Assumptions
by branson101
Summary: Bella has always assumed that her father didn't want her and resented that she was born. We all knows what happens when you assume things.
1. Chapter 1

Assumptions Chapter 1

I'm Sorry

_"I'm-"_

_ "Don't you dare say it! Don't you dare try to tell me that you are sorry. I don't want to hear it!"_

_ "But I _am_ sorry, Bella. I never meant to hurt you." I scoffed. He had the nerve to sit there and pretend to be upset that he'd hurt me by waltzing into my apartment and announcing that he had been cheating on me with my neighbor. The only reason that he finally told me was because he'd gotten her pregnant and was going to marry her. "It was love at first sight." "I never meant to hurt you, but I can't help the way I feel." _

_ I had been dating Jamie since we were in tenth grade. We were each other's first and only in everything. Well I guess not so much on his part anymore. I never thought that anything could hurt as bad as this did. I had also never been this angry. _

_ "Here, let me help you move your things to her place." I marched over to my dresser where he kept a few things for when he'd stay over and yanked the drawer out of the dresser. I walked out to the balcony and dumped all the clothes over the edge. While it felt good symbolically to do it, it probably would have made a bigger impact if I wasn't just on the fourth floor and her apartment wasn't up on the fifteenth. I hated heights and was terrified of the thought of living that far up in the building. _

_ For his part, he just stood there and let me rant and rave and lose it, until I started to cry. Then he came over and wrapped his arms around me and held me while I cried. And I let him. He was all that I had here in Phoenix since my Mom and Phil moved to Florida. He promised them that he'd look after me, and I knew that whether I liked it or not he was going to continue to keep that promise, even though he was in love with someone else. _

That was two months ago, and since then the time just seemed to drag on slowly. It hurt so bad. They had been seeing each other behind my back for six months and I had no clue because there was no visible sign of a difference in our relationship. He tried to keep a respectful distance while still trying to make sure that I was alright. But they still lived in the same building as I did and I still had to see them together. That is how I realized that our relationship was different than theirs. He had never looked at me the way that he did her. I had never doted on him the way that she did. The relationship we had was comfortable and convenient, but not true love.

It had taken me the better part of the two months to see that was the truth. I didn't love him. Not like she did. They really did belong together, while he and I had only stayed together because neither of us had realized that we were only settling with each other. I missed him as my friend more than I missed him as my lover.

Phil wasn't happy that I was alone in Phoenix but I refused to move to Florida. I loved my apartment and I did have other friends here, not just Jamie. I will admit that I wasn't all _that _close to them and rarely went out with them. But I did have a life here and I was twenty three and more than capable of taking care of myself.

There were few people that knew that I had a secret identity. As Bella Swan I was a nobody, and I could go about my life in peace. But as Marie Dwyer, I was a famous romance novelist. Of course there would always be some fan that figured it out but that was, thankfully, rare. And that was also where Jamie stepped in and became my security guard. He, Mom, and Phil, had always insisted that I hire private security whenever I went on a book tour. I hated doing it, but it appeased them anyway, mostly because my publishers thought it was a good idea as well.

I looked up at the clock and realized that I had been sitting in front of my laptop for three hours and had not written a single word. That was how it had been since that night that Jamie broke up with me. I was over it. I really was, and Jamie, Vickie, and I had managed to become friends, but I just couldn't find the inspiration to write at the moment. I was starting to panic about the due date I had for my manuscript that was coming up in two months, and I barely had the first chapter written. My editor told me not to worry about it, that they could extend the deadline. But I didn't want to go there. My fans meant everything to me and I was not going to disappoint them. They were expecting the next book in my series, The Celeste Moon Chronicles, to come out later this year. It was about a powerful witch and demon hunter that fell in love with a vampire.

I decided to try to get some inspiration by going onto Facebook and see what was going on in Marie Dwyer's official fan group. I enjoyed interacting with the fans like this, anonymously. When I got face to face with them I got too self-conscious and nervous, and tended to act like an idiot. Ok, I was the only one that thought that, but see the above reference of being self-conscious.

I stood up and rubbed my eyes and wandered off to my bedroom where my cat, Princess, was already curled up sleeping. It was three in the morning and I was exhausted. After brushing my teeth and throwing on a night gown, I crawled into bed and fell right into a deep sleep until the phone woke me an hour later.

"Hello?" I answered groggily.

"Is this Bella Swan?"

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"I'm Emmett Cullen; the Deputy Sherriff of Forks." That got me to sit up. "I'm sorry Miss Swan. I hate to have to tell you this over the phone, but your father was shot in the line of duty tonight. He didn't make it. Again, I'm sorry." The poor guy sounded like he was near tears and me, I didn't feel anything but dumbfounded and numb.

I hadn't seen my father in years. I rarely even thought about him. Hell, I couldn't even tell you when the last time I talked to him was. I know that it was well over a year ago. He and I never had anything in common and we gave up on each other years ago. Right about the time that Mom married Phil. Every visit I ever had with the man was painful. He never talked to me when I was there, except for asking questions about mom. I guess he figured that if he had no chance of getting her back there was no reason to put up with the inconvenience of dealing with me, the daughter that he never wanted.

I never even told him about my writing career. Why give him more reasons to be disappointed in me? I always had the feeling that he regretted that I was ever born. Not that he would ever tell me that. Oh no, not the great Chief of Police of Forks, Washington. He was a local hero. He was always available 24/7 for them. Not so much for the daughter that he never wanted but was forced to put up with for two weeks every summer.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah. I am."

"He was a great man and will be missed terribly."

"Yes. I'm sure he will be."

"So when can we expect you?"

"What?" Expect me for what?

"As I was telling you, as his daughter, you are his next of kin. In fact, you are his only living relative. We need for you to come up to Washington to claim his body and settle his estate.

I closed my eyes and sat there gathering whatever strength that I could muster to tell this guy that there had to be someone there that was close to him, that he actually liked, that should be handling this, but I knew that legally it would have to be me.

"Let me make a couple of calls and arrange a few things and I will call you back." As soon as I was off the phone with him, I called Jamie's cell. All I had to say was, "Charlie's dead," and he and Vickie were in my apartment.

"Bella, you know that you're father didn't hate you. You have to go." I rolled my eyes at him. He always told me that. So did mom. But they never saw how he was when it was just the two of us. He never talked, and was always relieved when I'd go to bed at night or when it was time for me to go back to my Mom. I knew better than they did. "Fine, it is too early in the morning to have this argument with you, again. Have you called Renee?" I shook my head no. "Well, it's five here now which makes it eight there. Call her."

I just stood there staring at my feet until he got off the couch and grabbed my phone off of the counter and shoved the phone into my hands. "C-A-L-L H-E-R!" He said, dragging out the words. I sighed and hit the speed dial number to mom's cell phone, only to have Phil answer. Right, mom would still be out on the beach doing her yoga.

When I told Phil what was up, he went and got my mom. I spent an hour on the phone with her before she finally let me go. She offered to meet me in Washington to help me out, but I told her that I was just going to go get it done and get back to my life.

I called Deputy Cullen back and told him that I'd be there in a couple of days. I had decided to drive up to Washington. With everything that had happened in the last couple of months, I really thought the drive might help clear my head. Plus, I didn't want to be without transportation while I was there. Jamie and Vickie didn't like the fact that I was going to travel alone but, ultimately, they had no say over what I did and backed off when I told them that. They did agree to take care of my apartment and Princess for me while I was gone.

I kicked the two of them out of my apartment and laid down for a couple of hours of sleep before I left. I ended up having to take a sleeping pill because my brain just wouldn't shut off. There were all sorts of memories of Charlie and me running through my head.

I woke up a few hours later, slightly refreshed, but ready to go and get this whole thing over with. I grabbed my suitcase and started throwing clothes into it. Jamie and Vickie came down to make sure that I ate dinner and to help me pack. I wasn't going to need much because I didn't see it taking long to settle his affairs and get home. Vickie was shocked when she started going through the bag and realized that I had not packed anything to wear to the funeral.

"What funeral?"

"Bella, you have to plan AND attend the funeral."

"I'm sure that someone else will have taken care of that before I get there."

"You know, for a smart woman, you sure are dumb about things. This is why you are going! They need YOU to plan the funeral, and let me warn you now, Forks is going to expect something big and public. So don't even start thinking you can just have him thrown into the ground without a ceremony."

"And a reception, there has to be a reception." Vickie chimed in from my closet. It sucked that I liked her and that she was pregnant because I was really close to smacking the both of them right now. Vickie came out of my closet carrying a black dress and my hanging dress bag.

I gave them the keys to my mailbox and my apartment; Jamie already knew where I kept the cat food and extra litter. They knew that I would be gone before they got up in the morning. There was no way that I was going to wait around for them, or anyone else. The sooner I left, the sooner I could come home and get on with my life.

I threw my laptop into my bag as an after thought. Maybe I'd get some writing done while I was there. It's not like I was going to have anything better to do with my time. I was going to Forks after all, the town that considered itself the Mayberry of the Pacific Northwest. I guess that made me Opie.

A/N:

Hello! I don't know how long or short this story is going to be yet. We'll all have to see where this goes together. You should know by now that I don't like to keep character to certain fic stereotypes. I like to shake things up a bit. Thanks for reading! Thanks to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta! (Happy Anniversary to her too)


	2. Chapter 2

Assumptions Chapter 2

Forks

I pulled into Forks around two in the morning. Deputy Cullen said that he was on duty tonight so I was to just give him a 'yell' when I got in and he would meet me at Charlie's with the key. A yell was probably all that I needed to reach anyone in this town.

As I drove through town I realized that nothing had changed since the last time I was here, and that was when I was fifteen. I stopped coming here after that. It was also after Mom married Phil and Charlie pretty much walked away from me and let Phil take over being my dad. As soon as I got home from Charlie's that year, Mom and Phil surprised me with a brand new car. I was so excited about it. I couldn't drive it on my own until my birthday in September but it was the best surprise ever. I called Charlie to tell him about it and he grunted that I didn't need a fancy car at my age, and then said he was late for fishing and hung up before I could even respond. That was the day that I stopped trying with Charlie. When the time came to go back to Forks the next summer, he told me not to come. I had a boyfriend and a summer job and told him that I didn't have the time anyway. I never went back to Forks after that.

He didn't bother to come for my high school or college graduations. He did manage to send a card with a check inside. They were checks that I never even cashed. I just left them in the cards and packed them away. I couldn't even tell you why I was keeping them or why he even bothered to send them to me.

I pulled up to one the few stop lights in this God-forsaken town and waited for the light to turn green. I pulled my phone out of my purse and put in on the seat next to me. I knew that I wasn't far from Charlie's house and needed to get ready to call Deputy Cullen. As soon as the light turned green I started to go through the intersection.

I heard the squeal of the brakes long before I saw the headlights or heard the crunch of the other car ramming into mine.

EPOV:

I was lying in my bed reading when I heard the crash outside. One look out of my window showed two people about to get into a massive fight. Actually, it showed a very pissed off woman who was about to beat the crap out of one drunk man. I ran down the stairs, hoping to stop the woman from committing murder. I reached her just in time to pull her off the guy as she attempted to strangle him.

"Let go of me asshole! I'm going to kill this idiot!" The girl was fighting to get out of my arms.

"No! Michael Newton might be drunk most of the time, but his wife is a friend of mine and she's pregnant. I really don't want her to become a young widow with a baby to take care of, and I really don't think that you want to go to jail for murder tonight."

She finally stopped struggling in my arms and calmed down enough that I felt safe letting her loose. I walked to the front passenger side of the car to inspect the damage. The front fender was all torn up and would have to be fixed before the car was drivable.

The woman walked up beside me and started to get pissed off again as she inspected the damage. I walked over to Michael's car where he was leaning and took note that his car had not sustained as much damage as hers had. He would have been able to drive his home, if he'd been sober.

"My dad bought me this car when I turned sixteen. I never had so much as a scratch on it and in five seconds of being in this hell hole I get creamed by Otis, the town drunk."

I looked at the girl and then took a good look at the license plate. Arizona. This was Chief Swan's daughter. "Your dad did not buy this car for you."

"I was there when he gave it to me and I don't remember seeing you, so how the fuck would you know?"

"Because I know Chief Swan and I know that this is not the car that he bought for you. This is the car that your rich stepfather gave you to buy you and apparently it worked."

Her head shot up in surprise. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Edward Cullen. I'll call my brother, Emmett, I know he's been expecting you." I turned to return to my apartment, which was right above the bookstore that I owned here on Main Street, when I heard Bella screaming.

"Oh my God! Help!" I turned to see Bella standing over Michael, who was slumped on the ground. I ran back to them, "Is he dead?" She asked with a panicked voice.

I got down and leaned over Michael until I could hear the light sound of him snoring, "No, he just fell asleep."

"You have got to be kidding! Who falls asleep on the street like this? Unbelievable."

"I'll be right back." I ran up to my apartment and called down to the police station.

"Hey, Tyler. It's Edward. Is my brother around?" Emmett had been the acting Chief of Police ever since Charlie was killed. At least he would be until a special election could be organized. Rose and I were trying to talk him into running for the job when the time came. He was popular around here and had an excellent chance of winning.

A minute later my brother came onto the line, laughing, "Isn't it a little late for you to be awake? Don't boring nerds like you go to sleep early?"

"Em, shut up. You are never going to believe what just happened." Emmett was hoping to make a good impression on Charlie's daughter. I don't know why he cared. Wait. I take that back. I know why and he's married to her. Rose was one of the few people in this town that knew that Charlie's daughter was a famous author and she was a huge fan of her books. Rose was intent on getting to meet Bella and spend time with her while she was here. I think she had her hopes up on becoming best friends with the woman. Unfortunately, she obviously didn't care about anything but money and Rose was destined to get hurt in all this. This accident was not going to help them out in befriending her at all.

I walked back outside and found Bella sitting on the hood of her car talking on her phone, "yeah, Jamie, I'm sure that I'm alright and I don't need a hospital. I don't even have a scratch on me. Fine. Here's Edward, he saw the crash happen. He'll tell you that I'm fine."

She handed the phone out to me with a pleading look on her face. I grabbed the phone out of her hand and sighed, I did not want to talk to whoever this Jamie girl was. "She's lying about not having a scratch on her. She has a small cut over her left ear but that appears to be it. She's probably in a little bit of shock over the accident, too." Her hand flew up to her face and searched until she found the cut that I was talking about.

"Are you sure she'll be fine? I can be there in a few hours if she needs me." I was shocked when it was a male voice that responded to me.

"I'm sure that all she needs is a band aid." I handed the phone back to Bella to fight it out with her boyfriend while I checked on Michael again and then I called Angela. By the time I was off the phone with her, Emmett was here and standing over Michael shaking his head.

"I'm going to have to have a bus take him to the ER to be looked at, then I'm going to have to book him, Edward."

"I know." I sighed. "Ang said that she'd meet you at the hospital."

It was a half hour of Emmett trying to be professional about everything, taking statements and photographs before he finally declared that we were done and let us go. Ben Cheney, showed up with his wrecker and started moving the cars back to his shop. He promised Bella that he'd get her car done as quickly as possible but would need a few days to get the parts in.

Emmett gave Bella Charlie's house key and she thanked him before turning to grab her bags and walk away. "What on earth are you doing, girl?" Emmett yelled at her.

"Walking to Charlie's," She said with a definite 'duh' tone to her voice.

"Oh no you're not. It's over a mile to his house, Edward will drive you." I was going to kill my brother for this. "He'll take care of that cut for you, too." She looked like she was about to argue with him for a minute but didn't. Those bags of her were heavy. I should know since I helped her get them out of her car before Ben towed it away. I guess the Arizona dessert hadn't completely fried her brain yet. Not that I was at all happy about having to spend more time with the woman.

Bella followed me up to my apartment and waited in the living room while I went to the bathroom to retrieve my first aid kit. I cleaned it and put some antiseptic ointment on before putting a band aid on it.

"I'm surprised that I don't need stitches. I usually do."

"I remember."

"What?"

"I said, I remember. You were always getting hurt as a kid. My mother watched you a couple of times for Charlie when he had to work."

"I don't remember anyone but the Black's keeping me and the creepy Jacob Black stalking me every time I was there. He always freaked me out with the way that he'd hide behind the trees and just watch me. Oh God! He's going to be at the funeral isn't he?" She shuddered.

"Nope. He's in prison. I thought for sure Charlie would have mentioned it."

"I haven't spoken to Charlie for a while. What is he is jail for?"

"Murder."

"Wow. Somehow I can believe that he would be capable of killing."

"I was sixteen when it all happened; I'm sure that we're the same age. I thought for sure that he'd told you about it. Huh." I sat there lost in thought for a minute before she thanked me for taking care of her cut. "I know who you are, by the way." I blurted out.

"Yeah, I think that we've established that."

"No. I mean, I know that you are Marie Dwyer, too." She paled.

"Tell me that no one else in this town knows that."

"There are a select few of us. Rose is one, she Emmett's wife and is a big fan of yours. So is Jessica Newton, a fan, I mean. But Jess doesn't know. Charlie asked us to keep it quiet for your sake."

"I didn't know that he even knew."

"He was your number one fan around here. I always made sure that he got the first copy. He was really proud of you and your success. Not that you ever cared."

She looked like she was about to start arguing with me so I cut her off, offering to get her home. She was a spoiled brat and I really had no desire to keep this conversation going. I was tired and wanted to get her home and get back here with time to get a couple of hours of sleep before I had to open the store.

She never cared about Charlie and had no regard for how badly she'd hurt him by excluding him from her life. Charlie only knew about her writing career because Bella's mother had called him to tell him. She'd hurt him deeply with her attitude towards him and it irritated me that she was the one that got to make all the decisions about his memorial service and his estate. She didn't deserve to have that honor.

The drive home was quiet. She seemed lost in her own world and I let her stay that way. I really didn't even want to drive her home; I would have let her walk. I parked the car in the driveway and started to get out of the car, "You don't like me but you're walking me to the door?"

"Emmett forgot that the key sticks. There is a trick to unlocking the door and if someone doesn't show you, you will be stuck outside for hours and its going to start raining soon."

"You know this how?"

"Because unlike you, I actually spent time with your Dad and helped him out." I let us into the house and marched into the kitchen. On the refrigerator were the keys to the truck that Charlie had bought for her before she completely dropped him from her life. I don't know why he kept it but he did. I handed her the keys and told her that if she needed anything to call Emmett and Rose, they'd be happy dote on her, and then I walked out of the house slamming the door behind me.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Thank you to Sweetpea123 for betaing this for me, you are amazing dear. Thank you to all that reviewed or added this to your alerts and/or favorites. I love seeing so many familiar names.

Chapter 3 is done and off to Sweetpea so I should be posting next weekend but we'll see how far I get on Chapter 4. I have a busy week ahead of me. If you want a teaser for Chapter 3 let me know in a review.


	3. Chapter 3

Assumptions Chapter 3

Charlie's Real Family

I stood there in the kitchen staring at the door that Edward Cullen just stormed out of, raging beyond belief. Who the hell was he to be so judgmental? That man didn't know the first thing about me or my relationship with Charlie. Or lack thereof as it were.

I wandered into the living room and threw myself down on the sofa and started flipping through the channels. It was getting to be close to dawn now and I knew that I needed to get some sleep, but I just couldn't seem to turn my brain off enough. At least Charlie had cable and plenty of channel s so that I had a wide variety of infomercials to choose from.

I must have eventually fallen asleep while watching an infomercial for this sandwich maker because I was woken by a knocking on my door. I dragged myself to the door and flung it open, only to find myself face to face with an amazingly beautiful blonde.

"Hi! I'm Rose Cullen. Emmett said that you'd made it to town this morning. I thought I'd bring you breakfast and make sure that you are ok after your accident with Michael."

"Uh…sure…" I stepped back to let the woman in.

"How are you related to Emmett and Edward?"

"Emmett's my husband and this is our daughter, Bree." I hadn't noticed the little blonde child that was the spitting image of her mother attached to her legs. I led them into the kitchen where Rose placed a casserole dish in the oven, "It should only take a few minutes to warm up this up. "

Bree immediately ran out to the living room. I heard a drawer open and close and she returned seconds later with a coloring book and crayons. "How did she know that those were in there?" Why those were in there were was a question that I was asking myself internally.

"Charlie always keeps a coloring book there for her. We're here every Sunday to watch games with him."

"We?"

"Emmett, Bree, Edward, and I. Sometimes Carlisle and Esme come with us." I nodded my head. I didn't know what to say to that. "Edward is here more than we are though." She rattled off as she got up and got some glasses out of the cabinet and a bottle of juice out of the fridge. She poured four glasses and carried them back to the table. I raised my eyebrow at her and she just smiled at me, "Emmett is going to join us in a couple of minutes when his shift is over. "

"It must suck to have him working all night."

"It does, but it doesn't happen all the time. They always rotate."

"Is he going to go for Charlie's job now?"

"I think so. He keeps going back and forth on it. I don't know who else would run or has the experience around here."

"Honey! I'm home!" We heard Emmett yell from the living room. Bree ran off to her dad as Rose rolled her eyes and got up to get our breakfast out of the oven. Emmett looked exhausted when he walked into the kitchen carrying Bree and sat down at the table.

"Smells great, baby."

"I helped daddy!"

"You did?"

"I tored up the asants!" Emmett and I both looked to Rose to tell us what 'asants were.

"Croissants. I use croissants as the bread in my strata."

"Really? I never thought of doing that. I usually use French bread."

"I used to, but found the croissants give it a richer, more buttery taste." I started to get up to help her plate the food but she waved me off, "Stay where you are. I know my way around this kitchen better than Charlie ever did."

I remembered a time when I was a teenager and cooking dinners for Charlie and me, hoping for once that he'd be happy with my effort and stay and eat with me, but every time he'd grab his plate and take it with him to the living room to eat while he watch some stupid game.

"I keep expecting him to walk in that door," Rose sighed as she sat down.

"I know. The guys and I were just talking about that this morning at shift change. It's like he's still there but you just can't find him." Rose leaned over and wrapped her arms around her husband and I realized that both of them were crying. We ate our breakfast in silence. I told Rose to just leave the dishes in the sink I would get them since she brought breakfast. She nodded and told her daughter to go sit in Papa Charlie's chair while the grownups talked about boring things." Papa Charlie? Really? The man barely even cared that I called him Charlie instead of Dad but their kid called him grandpa. Unbelievable.

We sat there for a few minutes before I finally asked, "How did it happen?"

"There was a robbery going down at the gas station. Charlie was in his car on his way back from a different call when that one came in. He got there first. You know, we have our drug problems like every other town does." Emmett took a deep breath, "The kid was high on meth. I pulled into the parking lot just as the gun went off. I'll never forget that moment; the sound of the gun or Charlie collapsing. We stormed in while Felix stood there looking between the gun and Charlie. A couple of guys cuffed Felix while I went to help Charlie. But there was nothing that could be done. He was shot in the chest and there was so much blood. I had never seen so much blood before. Felix was crying and repeating "I didn't mean to do it' over and over until I finally had to tell him to shut up so I could hear what Charlie was saying to me. Charlie was gone before the bus got there."

I realized that I had tears streaming down my face and I wiped them away before I asked my next question, "Where is this Felix now?"

"I have him being held in a youth detention center in Port Angeles. Fork's doesn't have the capabilities or procedures to house a detained minor on a long term basis."

"Minor? How old is he?"

"15. Almost 16."

"Wow. He's just so young."

"Yeah."

"Is he being tried as an adult or a juvenile?"

"Don't know yet. The prosecutor is pushing for him to be tried as an adult but that decision has to come from a judge."

We sat in silence once again before Rose told Emmett that he needed to go home to get some sleep. "Bella," She continued while looking at me, "I know you don't know me or anything, but I am familiar with the area and Charlie meant a lot to me and Emmett, and I would really like it if you'd let me help you plan the funeral."

I looked at her in surprise. She was right, I didn't know her and I usually didn't let strangers near me but I recognized that I was definitely going to need help and she had yet to even mention my writing career so I decided to give her a chance, "I would be grateful for the help. Thank you."

An half an hour later I came back downstairs from a much needed shower to find Rose and another woman cleaning the kitchen, even though I told her not to worry about it. I turned to head into the kitchen when I reached the bottom of the stairs but heard Emmett bellow, "Hey Bella! Come here!" I turned to the living room instead and found Emmett talking to a blond man that I actually did recognize. I would know Dr. Cullen anywhere. I had seen him in the ER almost every time that I visited Charlie.

Dr. Cullen marched over to me, "Emmett told me what happened with Michael Newton. Do you have any pain in your neck, back, or stomach?" He asked, instantly going into doctor mode.

"I'm fine. I promise."

"If you do start to experience any pain, do not hesitate to call me. Rose or Emmett can give you my number. Now, how are you holding up with all of this? I know from experience how hard it is when a parent dies."

"I really don't think it has really sunk in yet."

"Yeah, I remember feeling like that for a while after my dad passed away." He sighed and then turned to the little girl that was hanging from her father's arm, "Bree, tell your mom and grandma goodbye and we'll hit the road." The little girl ran off to the kitchen and returned a couple minutes later followed by Rose and the woman that I now recognized as being Dr. Cullen's wife, Esme.

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry about Charlie," She started crying as she pulled me into a hug. "I hope you don't mind that I invited myself along as you and Rose run errands and make arrangements today."

"No. It's fine, Mrs. Cullen." I didn't know what else to say without outright offending these people which I definitely did not want to do. These people seemed to be very close to Charlie and honestly grieving the loss of him from their lives.

"Please call me Esme. My, you turned into such a beautiful woman, "she cooed at me making me blush. Emmett followed Carlisle and Bree out the door to help him wrestle her into her car seat.

"We should get going," Rose said grabbing her purse off the table by the couch. Esme and I agreed and followed her out the door. I almost started laughing when I indeed found Emmett wrestling the four year girl into a car seat. Rose rolled her eyes and yelled out to Bree to behave. And she did. Immediately. I also noticed that it was the only car in the driveway.

"Uh. How did you all get here?"

"Ma rode with Carlisle, obviously, and Bree and I walked. We live just across the street." That explained why they were here all the time. "I don't think that we are all going to fit into your truck so we'll have to take mine." Right, the truck that Charlie supposedly bought me and never told me about. I was going to have to check out this phantom truck soon. But right now I followed Rose and Esme across the street and hopped into the back of a huge tan Escalade.

I was quiet on the ride to the funeral home, which took up its own block on Main Street, just listening to Rose and Esme chatter in the front seats. We were greeted by an older gentleman as we walked in the doors. Esme greeted the man with a hug before we were led into a room that had coffins and urns displayed for us to view and choose from like some demented showroom of death.

It all became too much for me when they started talking about wood versus metal and what Charlie would have wanted. It was when they started in on needing to get Charlie's dress blues ready for the viewing that a pounding started in my head and I spun around, searching for a chair to sit in but there was none in this room. My knees buckled and I felt myself heading for the floor. I immediately felt arms wrap around me and Esme's voice in my ear telling me to just breathe. When I was calmer and more aware of my surroundings, I saw Rose kneeling in front of me holding a box of Kleenex out to me. I hadn't even realized that I was crying and I had no idea why I was. I had practically no relationship with Charlie so I had no idea why I was crying. I pulled myself together and excused myself to the bathroom to freshen up.

Once I was presentable again I returned to the showroom of death. As I was approaching the door I could hear Rose, Esme, and the old guy, Mr. Trumble, reminiscing about Charlie. The realizations I had next almost sent me into another panic attack. These people were his family and Charlie had loved and cared about them. These were people that he enjoyed spending time with and went out of his way for. It was just me that he didn't want around. It was just me that he didn't like. These people were his real family; I was just an imposter that didn't belong here.

A/N:

I am so sorry that this is late but I really thought that I wasn't going to be able to get it posted until next weekend, so I guess one day late is better than a whole week. Right? So the next chapter is done and off to Sweetpea123, my awesome beta. If you don't want a teaser with your review reply tell me in your review. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Assumptions Chapter 4

Numb

I pushed back my thoughts and feelings of inferiority and walked back into the showroom. After assuring Esme that I was fine, we were led into a conference room where I had to make the final decisions. I had no idea that there would be so many things to consider just about the casket alone. First I had to decide between wood and metal, and from there it was what type of wood. Then there was dealing with the interior lining; it was all so overwhelming but I just went with the light oak with an almond colored sating lining. Esme and Rose assured me that I'd made the perfect choice.

"Ok, now that we have that settled, Ms. Swan, I assume that you will be fine with Reverend Webber officiating." It went on and on like that for another hour before we were able to leave. We had everything set and the funeral director would get word out on the date and time we'd decided on for the service.

As soon as we were outside I turned to Esme, "Please tell me that there is a bar in this town that's open right now because I really need a drink."

"Sorry Bella, the only bar in town doesn't open until five."

I sighed and grabbed my temples, "Right. Where to next?"

"The florist."

"Lead the way." We walked towards the other end of Main Street to the only flower shop in town.

"They're very good at what they do, Bella, we should show you the pictures of how amazing the flowers were for Rose and Emmett's wedding."

"They were great but not as great as the ones for Edward and Tanya's. We have to show her those pictures too. Where are they?"

"In storage," Esme sighed, "Edward told me to destroy them but I refused. Someday he might change his mind." It surprised me that Edward was married. I hadn't seen any sign that he lived with anyone when he took care of the cut on my face, nor did he tell anyone that he was leaving to drive me home. But I guess I wasn't paying that close attention to him.

"I don't think he will, ma," Rose shook her head and we all fell into silence for the remainder of the short walk.

As soon as we walked in, this lady who was about the same age as Esme attacked me and tried to hug the life out of me while she sobbed about how unfair it was that Charlie was gone. Esme and Rose finally pried the woman off me and we got down to business. It was easier to order the flowers as all she really needed to know was how much I wanted to spend on the arrangement. When I gave her the figure she sat in shock for a moment.

"That's more than we paid for the flowers for both weddings," Rose said in awe. Yeah, well, I made really good money as an author, and it was becoming more evident that the people in this town needed the best memorial service that I could put together for them to say goodbye to Charlie.

After we were done with the flowers I asked about caterers in town. Esme told me that Mrs. Webber and the Ladies Auxiliary at her husband's church had volunteered to take care of it. She even offered to hold the reception at her house. That was a relief, I really didn't want to deal with getting the lodge to let us have it there.

"I really need to stop at the market to pick up something to make for dinner and for meals for the next few days. Charlie's fridge is practically empty."

"That's fine. I need a few things myself. But don't you worry about tonight; you are having dinner with us tonight."

"Oh, I don't…"

"It's an order, not an invitation."

"Yes, Ma'am." I replied with a smile that matched hers.

"Now that that is settled, is there anything you don't eat?"

"Not really. Just cinnamon and coconut. I can't even stand the smell of them."

The stop at the market took longer than I expected it to as we were stopped by person after person wanting to offer their condolences. That and I took some time perusing the limited liquor department looking for something to get me through the night.

Finally we were on our way to Esme's house, after having made a brief stop at Charlie's to drop off my groceries. I was shooed away from the back of the SUV when I tried to help them carry the groceries in. I followed them through the house and Rose poured me a glass of wine before telling me to go sit outside on the patio while they got everything put away. It was cloudy but not raining so it had been decided that we were going to grill out. I was actually looking forward to a hamburger made on a grill. It had been years since I had been to a BBQ.

I took a seat at the table next to Edward who was watching Emmett pushing Bree on her swing set.

"Are you ok?" Carlisle asked me.

"Yeah. Fine." I sighed. I was completely tired of being asked that question. Carlisle nodded and then stood to walk back into the house. Edward didn't say anything to me, he just sat there watching his brother playing with Bree.

"He's great with her," I commented trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah."

"Thanks again for your help last night. I'm sorry if I was bitchy. It's been a long couple of days."

"It was no problem, Bella. And I did it out of respect for Charlie, not you."

Ok. That was enough trying to make nice with him. I just sat back and sipped on my beer until Carlisle came out carrying a plate of burgers and went to start the grill.

"I heard you ran into a lot of well-wishers today." Carlisle said with a smile as he lit the grill.

"OH my, I didn't think that we were ever going to get her out of the store," Esme laughed as she walked out and placed a fruit salad on the table."

"Just think how much worse it would have been if they knew that you are also Marie Dwyer. Edward can barely keep your books on the shelves," Rose said as she sat down next to me.

"That's exactly why I use a fake name. I like being able to go to the store or to Starbucks without being mobbed. Rowling will never be able to have true privacy again."

Rose bit her lip and hesitated before finally asking, "Do you mind if I ask how your new story is coming? I can't wait to read it."

"Ugh. It's not coming along very well. I kind of lost my mojo lately."

"Because of Charlie dying?" Esme inquired.

"No, it's been going on for months. Since my boyfriend, Jamie, admitted that he was cheating on me and broke up with me." Don't ask me why I was being so open and honest with these people. I didn't know them from Adam but for some reason I trusted that they weren't going to be running to the first tabloid they could contact with the information I was giving them.

"Wait," Edward finally looking at me, "Is this the same Jamie that I reassured that you were fine last night?"

"Yes. We're still friends. Or I guess we're back to being friends."

"I don't think that I could be friends with a guy that left me for someone else," Rose blurted out.

"It took time to forgive him but I've known him for too many years to not have him as a part of my life. He was my friend before we dated and has always been my confidant. And truth be told, they really love each and are perfect for each other." I went on to tell them about the twisted friendship that we'd three of us had formed.

"I can't believe you trust him to be in your home while you're gone. There is no way that I'd be that trusting." I just shrugged at Edward's comment and continued to drink my wine.

A few hours later Emmett had to leave to get to work and Bree was falling asleep in her mother's arms, so I stood up to go. But Esme implored me to stay, volunteering Edward to drive me home like Emmett had the night before. I thanked her for dinner but told her that I was quite tired from not getting enough sleep the night before and followed Emmett and Rose out to their cars.

After I finally got the key to let me into Charlie's house I grabbed the bottle of Patron that I'd bought and started to wander through the house. My bedroom upstairs was completely untouched from the last time that I had been here to visit him. It was a little eerie, to be honest. I avoided Charlie's room. I wasn't ready to go there yet. Before I knew it I was in the garage. I walked over to the truck that sat there and just stood there staring at it for the longest time. It was completely what I had been looking to get when I was learning to drive. Not that I didn't love my car that Phil bought me, but this kind of truck had character and history. I sat thinking about all the stories this truck could tell. I finally had the courage to open the door and climb in. That's when his voice startled me, "Don't you know you're not supposed to drink and drive?"

I looked at the door to see Edward standing there watching me, "For your information, I wasn't going to drive it. I was just admiring it. He really bought it for me?"

"Yes."

"I wish he would have told me about it. I just don't get it. Why would he buy it for me and then tell me…never mind. It doesn't really matter?"

"It doesn't?"

"It doesn't matter and neither do I. I never did," I said with tears streaming down my face. "I don't understand why he couldn't …but…" I slurred out.

"But what?" Edward implored.

I grabbed the bottle of tequila and took a swig before offering it Edward, who accepted the drink, "It's not important now. What is important is there is almost half a bottle of tequila here that needs to get drunk."

"I think you're drunk."

"No I'm not asshole. I never get drunk. I'm numb. And damn it if it doesn't feel so fucking good."

"You swear a lot when your drunk."

"I said I wasn't drunk you fucktard and if you keep it up, I'll be a bitch and refuse to share with you."

"We wouldn't want that would we?"

"Nope. We sure wouldn't."

We went back into the house and flopped down on the couch before taking turns with the tequila and talking about random things. It was late again before the booze was gone and Edward stood and announced that he had to leave.

"I see how you are. You show up, drink my tequila, and run off when it's all gone," I joked.

"I really just came to see if you were alright."

"You were thinking about me? I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. I just hate some of the shit you pulled on Charlie."

"I don't know what you mean and I am too drunk for this conversation."

"I thought you never got drunk?"

I flipped him off causing him to laugh at me. I stretched out on the couch and asked, "How are you getting home? Should I call Emmett to come get you? Or your mother? They have no problem volunteering you to play taxi."

"I'll get home the same way that I got here, by walking."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Good night Bella." All I could do was nod as he walked away. After he was gone I forced myself to get up and grab some sheets out of the closet and the comforter and pillows off my bed upstairs to myself a bed on the sofa. I passed out as soon as I fell onto the couch.

I woke the next morning with a headache from hell and the realization that, along with Edward, I'd pounded back a lot more alcohol than I was used to. I grabbed my phone and noticed that I had several missed calls that I needed to return before I went about my day. But first, I needed a cup of coffee and a shower.

It was after noon when I climbed into the truck and started it. The deafening roar was doing nothing good for my headache but I had to get out of the house and there was one place that I needed to go.

A/N:

Ok. Sweetpea123 does an awesome job betaing this but I made some big changes after I got it back so all errors and mistakes are mine. I will send a teaser with review replies unless you tell me that you don't want one. Or you review as a guest. I can't reply to those. I love you all and thank you for sticking with me.


	5. Chapter 5

Assumptions Chapter 5

Family

I was exhausted from being up so late and all I really wanted to do was to finally close the store and go crawl in my bed, but I still had another hour before I could do that. At least my headache had gone away. I couldn't remember the last time I drank that much tequila. I was never so glad that I closed early on Saturday and didn't open at all on Sunday.

I was sitting behind the counter, torn between trying to convince myself to walk through the store and straighten up the shelves or picking up the book that I had been reading and chilling until closing time. I looked over at the book again, sighed, and got up and wandered over to the children's section of the store. I started cleaning up the toys and stray books when I heard the bell over the door chime. I walked over where I could see the door and smiled when I saw Mrs. Webber, Angela's mother, walk in with her twin boys, Adrian and Andrew. They were seven and both of them loved coming into the bookstore to get new books.

"Hello, Mr. Edward," the boys greeted me as the three of them walked into the area that I was cleaning.

"Hey boys! What adventures are you looking for today?"

"PIRATES!" Adrian yelled as Andrew yelled, "COWBOYS!" I laughed as I started helping them find books about pirates and cowboys.

We were still trying to narrow their stacks of books down to a maximum of three each when I heard the bell over the front door again, "I'll be with you in a moment!"

When I finished with the Webber boys and took them over to the register to ring up their purchases we found Bella sitting on my chair behind the counter, "Mrs. Webber, this is Bella Swan."

"Oh, Bella, we are going to miss Charlie so much! I'm sorry. I'm Mrs. Webber. My husband is Reverend Webber." Mrs. Webber cried as she pushed me to the side and grabbed Bella to hug her. "Angela told me about the accident, I'm so sorry dear. My daughter and son-in-law don't have much money but my husband and I are willing to cover anything that the insurance doesn't."

"That's not necessary. You and your husband are already being more than generous by helping with the funeral and I am more than capable of handling the cost of the repairs."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Is the guy that hit me alright? I think his name was Michael, right?" She looked to both of us for confirmation that she had indeed gotten his name right.

"Yes. It's Michael. He's really fine, just a couple bruises. We were all more worried about you. He feels really bad about it and wanted to apologize, but we thought it best to keep his distance for now. You're going through enough without adding more stress to your life."

"Tell him not to worry about it. But you did just remind me that I have to call about my car today. With everything going on yesterday I totally forgot to call. " I quickly finished my transaction with Mrs. Webber and walked her and the boys out.

"She's so sweet."

"She has her moments."

"Edward don't judge her because of your fears. That is not fair to her."

"Is the way she treated Charlie fair?"

"Only the two of them know what happened there. Remember to never judge anyone until you've walked a mile in their shoes."

"I know. I still remember that lesson from your Sunday school lessons."

"Then act like it. I'll see you at church tomorrow." She warned me before hugging me and walking away with her sons in tow.

Bella was back to sitting in my chair with a big smile on her face. It took me a second to remember that I had left the book that I was reading on the counter. Actually, I was reading it for the third time.

"This is my favorite of series so far." She said picking up the book and thumbing through it.

"Mine too."

"I can see that. It's nice to see one so worn out….The words just seemed to flow so easy with this one," she sighed putting the book down.. "I wish it was that easy with everything."

I walked over to her and sat down on the counter, "The writer's block that bad?"

"It's not just the book. It's my whole life. I can write sex scenes like crazy but when it comes to communicating in real life…I suck."

"I can't believe that you are a bestselling novelist and you just used said that." I laughed at her.

"Oh shut up!" She said slapping my arm.

"So, did you come here for a reason or are did you just stop by to invade my privacy and beat me up?" I asked with a smile.

"I definitely came to beat you up. That is too much fun to pass up." She stopped and took a deep breath, "Seriously, I just wanted to apologize again for my behavior since we met the other night. I'm not usually a raving bitch or a sobbing lush. It's just that I…I…this trip has been so surreal. I just don't understand—"The bell over the door rang out announcing another customer had come in and we turned to see a family walking in, "You're busy. I should go and leave you alone." She jumped up and bolted out of the store before I had the chance to say anything.

It was so aggravating that way that one minute she could be a real bitch and the next she seemed so lost. One thing was for sure, Bella Swan meant drama and I had had enough drama in my life over the last couple of years to last a lifetime.

BPOV:

I practically ran out of Edward's bookstore and returned to my truck. I couldn't believe that I almost started whining to him about my dad. He'd made it plainly clear that he didn't give a shit about me. I just didn't know what I did to make him hate me like he did. We were practically strangers. Maybe hate was a strong word, in truth he was so hot and cold with me all the time. One moment he refused to look at me and the next we were getting drunk in a truck in the middle of the night.

I started the truck and headed back to the gas station and the ATM machine at the bank before heading back to Charlie's house. When I pulled into the driveway I immediately noticed that the front door was open when I know that I closed it. I didn't lock it because I was tired of fighting with that damn lock and key, but I figured this was Forks. The crime rate was in the negatives here.

I cautiously approached the door with my mace out, ready to spray and run like hell across the street and hope that Emmett was home. I heard voices in the kitchen as I walked through the door slowly. I was almost to the kitchen door when a little voice piped up, "Hi, Miss Bella!, making me scream. I turned to find Bree sitting in the easy chair and watching cartoons. My screaming caused Rose and Emmett to come running out of the kitchen.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just startled. I wasn't expecting to find anyone in the house."

"Sorry," Rose said, "people started dropping off casseroles, cakes, hams and other crap. We thought we'd put it in the fridge for you before they all got ruined in the rain. We probably shouldn't have let ourselves in like that. It's just a habit."

"Oh, that's alright but thanks for taking care of the food for me."

"Don't thank me yet. There is still a lot of things we haven't been able to find a place for."

"There's that much?"

"Yeah. You're set for the next decade."

I took off for the kitchen and found the table and counters full of dishes of food, "What am I going to do with all of this? You two have to take some. Esme too. And maybe Edward? I can't possibly eat all of this food!"

Rose was thrilled and celebrating the fact that she was not going to have to cook tonight as she took a ham, a pan of macaroni and cheese, and a chocolate cake home for dinner. They were also going to store several other casseroles in their fridge for me and we would take them all to Esme's for the reception after the funeral.

After they left I stood in my kitchen and stared at the counter full of food and sighed. I took a casserole out of the fridge and threw in the oven to start warming up while I went upstairs to run a hot bubble bath. I was hoping that a long hot soak in the tub would do the trick and clear my head.

Forty five minutes later I was just getting out of the tub when I heard someone knocking at the door. I threw on my robe and walked down the stairs, the aroma of the casserole getting stronger as I got closer to the kitchen. I could smell it from the bathroom and it had been making me hungry.

I opened the front door to find Edward standing there, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you… I just thought… I was sitting at home and couldn't get our conversation this afternoon out of my head. I was wondering what you were going to say."

"Oh. I guess it really doesn't matter, Edward. I've just found myself questioning a lot of things since I got here and I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the answers that I am looking for."

"I don't know. I think if you try hard enough you might."

"I'd have to learn to channel the dead or find someone who can, and outside my novel s I don't know anyone who can do that."

"Maybe I-" He was cut off by the timer on the oven going off. "Maybe I should just go," and he turned to go.

"Edward, wait! You know, the people of Forks have managed to bestow upon me enough food to feed a small nation. Wanna help me eat some of it? I mean, unless you need to get home."

"I have nowhere that I have to be."

I stepped back and let him in, "Let me just go get dressed and we'll eat."

I ran upstairs to my old bedroom, where I had left my suitcase, and changed into some old lounge pants and a t-shirt. When I got back down to the kitchen Edward had taken the casserole out of the oven and was getting plates out of the cabinet.

"You weren't kidding about the amount of food," he laughed. I smiled as I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a couple of cans of beer that had been Charlie's and turned to find Edward holding two plates of food and staring at a table that was filled with cakes, cupcakes, and pies.

"I know where Charlie keeps his TV trays," Edward said, heading toward the living room. I grabbed some forks and napkins and followed him.

We sat on the couch, eating and flipping through channels on the TV like we were friends. I got the impression from his family that he spent many nights here keeping Charlie company. I couldn't understand why his wife wouldn't care unless she worked nights. That had to be it. It also had to be the reason that I hadn't seen her, and she wasn't at the family dinner last night.

I got up after a while and took our plates to the kitchen and grabbed a cherry pie and two spoons and returned to the living room.

"No plates?"

"Nope. Pie should be devoured. Just remember to keep to your half."

When the pie was gone I went to the kitchen and started to run some dish water. I didn't realize that Edward had follow me until he spoke, "May I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How could you hurt Charlie the way you did?"

"I don't know what you mean. I never did anything to hurt him."

"Are you kidding me? It practically destroyed him when you dumped him for your rich stepfather."

"I didn't!"

"Then why haven't you been here once in the last seven years? If you gave a shit about him you would have visited."

"He told me not to."

"He never would have done that. He missed you. He loved you."

"Bullshit! I was there on the phone with him, Edward. I can remember exactly what he said to me."

"And what was that?"

"He said that he didn't want me to come back to Forks. It would be better if I just stayed home. Then he said that he was late to pick up Billy to go fishing and then he just hung up on me. "

A/N:

I always wonder why people bring so much food when someone dies. They did it when my dad died and none had any appetite to eat for about a week. It confuses me.

My son started high school this week and will start orchestra rehearsals tomorrow so given my new schedule of having to get up early to drive him across town every morning before driving all the way back to get to my office I will not update next Saturday. I am finding it hard to write a quality chapter this week to send to Sweetpea123, my awesome beta, and need more time to get it the way I want it and not just post it to keep to a schedule. I'm sorry for failing everyone on that.

Thank you for reading and reviews will get a teaser.


	6. Chapter 6

Assumption 6

Reflection

EPOV:

I was able to reach the meadow in good time. It helped that I was still angry with Bella about the lies she spouted about Charlie. That man loved her and would never have told her that he didn't want her. There was only one time that he asked her to postpone her visit and that was because of Jacob Black. He feared that she would be in danger when she was here and made the decision to ask her to wait to come up here. This was the first time that she returned to Forks since then.

I stretched out on the blanket that I had brought with me and closed my eyes. This was my one and only refuge where no one could find me. My family knew that I loved to hike in the woods but I never told them about the meadow. This is where I left everything and everyone behind. I let the sun warm me as I shut down my brain and allowed myself to drift to sleep.

When I awoke a couple of hours later, I reached into my bag and pulled out the lunch that I had packed. I downed the first beer in the six pack that I brought with me and immediately grabbed a second one. I know that it's not the brightest idea to be drinking alone in the woods when you have a long hike back down the mountain, but I really didn't give a shit right now.

As soon as I was done eating I stuffed the rest of the beers in the cooler to keep cold. I walked toward the creek that flowed past the edge of the meadow, stripping off my clothes as I went until I was completely naked. The only things that were around to see me were a few deer and squirrels, and maybe a mountain lion or two. It felt good to be this free and unhindered. It had been a long time since I did this last. Not since my perfect life started falling apart.

I floated in the warm water, glad that it was the middle of summer and I could still do this. I allowed my mind to drift back to Bella and Charlie. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to forget that she existed but I knew that it was going to be impossible. The truth was that I usually ended up laughing and smiling when I was hanging out with her. There were moments that I could see Charlie in her.

I was up at the crack of dawn to get out of cell phone range before my family could start to bug me. I didn't feel like talking to them or anyone right now. I had too much going through my head to be around anyone that I cared about today. I was hiding. It was that plain and simple. I was a coward and I proved it last night when I called Bella a liar and walked out of the house without another word. It was not my best moment. I can admit to that.

The creek was deep enough for me to dip under the water and just disappear for a moment in time. I resurfaced only when I absolutely had to. Then I went under again. I did this until my lungs hurt so bad that I couldn't continue and then I went back to floating.

I wanted to be able to stay the night here and camp but I couldn't because Charlie's funeral was in the morning. I stayed as late as I could before I finally had to start making my way back down the mountain to ensure that I got to my car before nightfall.

I made it back to my apartment to find my brother waiting for me. As in, he let himself into my home and was sitting on my couch eating my food waiting for me.

"As a deputy you should know that breaking and entering is a felony." I deadpanned as I walked past him.

"It's legal as an officer of the law to enter the home of a citizen if he has just cause to believe that a crime has been committed, or that the citizen is in need of emergency assistance."

"And how does that apply here?"

"You made your mother worried about you when you didn't show to church or brunch today."

"Damn it. I sent a text to all of you. I just wanted to be left alone."

"I know. That is why I told mom that I'd come and check on you so she wouldn't. You're still going to have to deal with her tomorrow but, hell, we were all worried. What's up?"

"It's nothing."

"Bullshit. It's not like you to skip church for any reason. You come sick. So talk to me."

"It's nothing and it's everything. Did you see Bella today?"

"Nope. Couldn't find her either. We all thought that she might have been with you."

"No." I didn't want to go into last night. My brother was big on treating ladies right and he definitely would have pummeled me for the way I treated Bella last night. "I haven't heard from her since last night."

"You've been spending a lot of time with her. You see that she's not as horrible as you thought she'd be?"

"No. Yes. She's….I don't know. She's very confusing and irritating."

"All women are. You've been married. You know this."

"Don't go there, man. Now is not the time for me to think about _her."_

"Ok. Ok. Are you going to be alright tonight? I'm not going to get a call that you did something stupid."

"I'm fine. I'm just tired from playing in the woods all day."

"Man, I'd love to know where you disappear to all the time. It sucks that you refuse to show me. Alright, I need to get to work, but if you decide you're ready to talk, call me. I'll call mom and tell her you're home and safe and in one piece and she'll see you in the morning. You get some sleep, but please shower first because you are beyond funky, dude."

"I'd be in the shower already if you weren't here."

"I'm gone."

Finally I was alone again. First though, I threw a TV dinner in the oven to heat up while I took Emmett's advice on the shower and ironed my suit for the morning. When everything was done I plopped myself in front of the TV to eat and clear my mind. I was just about to turn off the TV and go to bed when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello Edward. I…uh…I heard about Charlie and wanted to make sure that you were alright." I closed my eyes and wondered if it were possible for my night to get any worse. If I didn't want to think about my ex-wife, I sure as hell didn't want to talk to her either.

BPOV:

I sat there after Edward stormed out of the house, dumbfounded that he acted that way. He asked. I answered. If he didn't want to hear the truth then why the hell did the dumbass ask in the first place? I grabbed my blankets and pillow and made up my bed on the couch and collapsed. Not that I was able to get to sleep. I kept thinking about how angry Edward got when I answered his question. Once I convinced myself that I didn't care I was able to fall asleep.

I woke in the morning to my cell phone ringing. I grabbed it off the end table. "Yeah," I all but barked into the phone.

"Well, good morning to you too, Sunshine!" Jamie laughed at me.

"It's too early for this shit."

"It's almost noon."

I sat up and looked at the clock and sure enough, it was a quarter to noon, "Wow. I had no idea. I was up late last night."

"Everything ok?"

"Fine."

"You never could lie to me Bella. Not even a thousand miles away. What's wrong?"

"Just some drama with a local. Nothing that I can't handle."

"I'm sure. Just don't anger the mourning locals to the point that they throw you out of town."

"I didn't even do anything wrong! He asked me a question. I answered honestly. It's not my fault that he didn't like my answer."

I heard him groan, "Bella, if the question had anything to do with Charlie, you need to watch how you phrase things around these people. I don't think you understand how flippant you come off when you talk about him. You try to make people think you don't care that your relationship with him fell apart so they don't see how hurt you really feel. If you had just talked to the man…" I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I didn't call to have this argument with you again. Look, the reason I called was to warn you that Renee boarded a plane this morning and will be in Forks tonight."

"Why?"

"Bella. She's your mother and his ex-wife. She wants to be there for you and pay her respects to a man that she did love. Why is it that you can never understand these things? I can't believe you write romance novels, and quit rolling your eyes at me."

"Are you done yet?"

"Yes."

"How's my cat?"

"He's fine. Vicky brought him up to our place so he doesn't get lonely."

"Well, he can't be too good if you don't remember that 'he' is a she, hence the name Princess." He laughed and changed the subject.

We talked for a few more minutes while I moved around the house and started to heat up some lunch. I even talked to Vicky before they had to leave for brunch with her parents. I found out that I had until at least six before my mother would arrive, leaving me six hours to get my head together. I knew exactly where to go for some peace and quiet. I got in the truck and hoped that I wouldn't get lost trying to find the right spot. I briefly thought about calling Edward, knowing that he'd know exactly what I was talking about, but thought better of that. If I couldn't find Charlie's favorite fishing spot then I didn't find it.

I stopped at the gas station for a soda and junk food on my way to the highway. It's been years since I've been here for Charlie to drag me along on his fishing trips. At least he never cared if I was reading all day. I think he was just happy that I kept myself entertained and didn't bug him. I actually liked it when we'd come here. It was relaxing and peaceful here unless he brought Billy and Jacob with us. Jacob never left me alone. I did get in trouble for pushing him in the lake once. I gladly took the punishment for that one.

It took about an hour of driving in circles before I finally found the right place. I pulled the truck off the road and looked around at the river. I got out of the truck and walked to the river bank before I sat down on the picnic table that I remember Charlie putting out here when I was eight. I sat there for a long time just taking in the serenity of the place before I went back to the truck and got out my bags. I pulled out my laptop and opened the file that held my manuscript and sat there staring at the computer.

My mind kept wandering to Charlie and I wondered if everyone was right. They kept telling me that I was being ridiculous. That Charlie loved me and wanted to be a part of my life. But I just couldn't believe them because they weren't there all the times that he ignored me or got mad at me for talking during a game. I finally let myself go and cried.

I shut the computer again and sighed. I locked it in the truck and started to walk around the river bank and into the woods. I didn't want to go too far into the woods and end up getting lost since I didn't know what I was doing. But I wandered in a bit under the cover of the trees where it was cool. It was getting warm out and I considered wading into the river but was too scared of the fish I knew were in there. Do fish bite? I thought they did but I wasn't sure. I knew that piranhas and sharks did. I wasn't in the mood to find out by experiment if I was right or not.

As I wandered around I thought of the boat that was parked next to the garage at Charlie's house. I was going to have to start thinking about what I was going to do with it. Charlie didn't have a will so it would be up to me to make those decisions. I had no clue where to start. I kept wandering around the woods and the river bank until I just couldn't take the heat anymore and packed up the truck and left again.

I returned to Charlie's and turned on a movie. I didn't mean to fall asleep but I must have because I was woken to someone shaking my shoulder, "Bella! Bella, sweetheart, it's time to wake up." My eyes fluttered open to see my mother standing over me. "You really should lock the door. You don't want some weirdo walking in off the streets."

"Like you?" I said with a smile as I sat up.

"Exactly. I take it from your lack of surprise that you were warned that I was on my way? Which one called you, Phil or Jamie?"

"Jamie." She nodded.

"That means my husband must have called him. I didn't see your car outside when I pulled up. Did it break down?"

"No. I was in an accident the second I came into town." I told her about the accident and the truck that Charlie had bought me. She had no clue he had done that but said it sounded like something that Charlie would do.

"It feels so strange to be in this house after so many years," she mused, wandering around the living room. "Do you want to go to the diner for dinner or are you tired of eating there yet?"

After a dinner of more of the food that the locals dropped off we decided to go for a walk. I pointed out Emmett and Rose's house which was dark. She remembered Carlisle and Esme from her high school days. They weren't exactly best friends as they were a couple years ahead of Charlie and Renee, but it was a small town and everyone knows everyone in a small town.

We made it all the down to main street and we were walking past Edward's bookstore when I peeked in the window and saw him sitting on the counter. The look on his face stopped me in my tracks. He looked so despondent and lost that it broke my heart.

Renee turned when she noticed that I was no longer following her and came back to look in the window. "You know him?"

"That's Edward Cullen."

"I see. He looks like he could really use a friend right now. I'll see you at Charlie's later." She hugged me and started walking back the way we came, leaving me standing there watching Edward and wondering if he'd let me in if I knocked.

A/N:

I want to say that I am sorry for not updating last week. I think I've finally gotten used to getting up at 5:30 in the morning to take my son across town to school. I went from a five minute commute to an hour long one. Chapter 7 is with Sweetpea123, my most amazing beta, so next week should be a go for updating. I want to thank Sweetpea for all that she does to help me clean up these chapters. I'm horrible with grammar.

I also want to say thank you to the person(s) that nominated this story at tehlemonadestand. I am honored that you thought my story was good enough to be nominated. On that thought, I want to say welcome to all the new readers that have joined us due to that nomination. You guy the awesomest!

Reviews will get teasers unless you tell me that you don't want one! See you next weekend!


	7. Chapter 7

Assumptions Chapter 7

Goodbye

BPOV:

I stood at the window watching Edward and trying to work up the courage to knock. Mom was right, he looked so sad. Before I could convince myself to knock, Edward looked toward the window and right at me. He stood up and walked toward the window without taking his eyes off me. He stopped after a few steps and we just stared at each other for a few moments before he shook his head and turned and walked away. I watched as he walked through a doorway that led to a lighted stairway. I stayed where I was until long after he turned off the light.

I continued to walk around town by myself. I never would have done this in Phoenix. It would have been too dangerous, but here I wasn't worried about being mugged. There was a peace that surrounded me as I walked through the darkness that I hadn't felt in many years. This was the best I'd felt in a long, long time.

The house was dark by the time that I made it back to Charlie's house. I had assumed that mom would be asleep, given the three hour time change she had just been through. I walked into the living room and found her asleep on the couch. I turned and went up the stairs and walked into the bedroom that was mine as I was growing up. I had not felt comfortable sleeping in here and I really felt that I didn't belong here. I had merely used this room to store my clothes and change. I should have realized that Mom wouldn't want to sleep in Charlie's room, either. It would be weird to sleep in your ex-husband's bed while in town attending his funeral. I couldn't even bring myself to open the door yet.

I didn't even bother getting undressed before collapsing onto the bed and falling asleep. But sleep wasn't destined to stay with me for long. It was only about an hour later that I was wide awake in bed. I never did get back to sleep. After a couple of hours I climbed out of the bed and went outside and sat on Charlie's front porch and waited to watch the sun rise.

I was just about to get up and go back into the house when I saw Emmett coming home from work. I smiled and waved to him as he waved to me as he got out of his car and made his way into his house.

Nine o'clock found me sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee, waiting for Mom to be ready to go, when there was a knock at the door. I got up and quietly walked to the door to find Esme and Carlisle standing there.

"We thought that you might like a ride today. You shouldn't drive yourself. It's not right or safe," Esme said, grabbing me into a hug.

"Thanks. I think we'll take you up on that. My Mom arrived last night. If that's alright?"

"Absolutely." They followed me back to the kitchen when I offered them a cup of coffee while we waited. None of us said anything while we sat there sipping on our coffee. I don't think there was anything that really needed to be said.

Before I knew it I was sitting on a chair in the office at the church. Carlisle and Esme had escorted Mom and I back to Reverend Webber's office as soon as we arrived. It was the first time that I could remember meeting him. He asked me if there was anything that I wanted him to make sure that he mentioned during the service. I told him that I just wanted to make sure that he reminded the town of how much Charlie loved living in Forks and how much his job and everyone in this town meant to him.

We stayed in the office until minutes before the funeral was set to start. The funeral home had already brought Charlie in and draped a flag over the coffin. That is the moment that it all hit me. No matter how bad our relationship was or who was at fault, he was my dad and now he was gone. Forever.

I don't remember anything else that happened during the service or what was said; I was lost in my head with thoughts of regrets. I just kept staring at the coffin that held my father. I kept thinking of him in there and it hit me that he really was gone. I started fumbling through my purse, searching for the Kleenex that I was positive that I threw in there this morning. I couldn't find it. I was just frustrated that I couldn't find anyand the tears had started falling and I couldn't stop them. I felt Esme's hand on mine. She was holding out a box of tissues to me. As soon as I took the box out of her hands I started outright sobbing. I immediately felt Mom and Esme wrap their arms around me and they held me tight for the remainder of the service.

As soon as the service was over Mom helped me to my feet and I turned to leave the church. It was the first time that I had taken the opportunity to look out into the church. It was packed to the point that there were people standing in the back of the room. I started forward and followed Reverend Webber who was walking directly behind Charlie as we left the sanctuary. As I took in all the faces, it was easy to realize that not only did the entire town of Forks show up, but also everyone from the reservation appeared to be here as well as some other neighboring towns.

The service at the cemetery was just as much of a blur as the church service was. The only thing that I clearly remember was that at the end I walked forward to put a rose on top of the hat from his dress blues when I tripped over my feet and started to falter. It was Edward that got to me and held me up so that I wouldn't fall and helped place that flower before walking me back to my chair. I waited until everyone was gone before I stood up and made my way back to the Cullen's car.

I was sitting on the Cullen's back patio, in the same chair that I sat in the other night when I had dinner with them, sipping on a cup of hot tea that Esme made me. This time, however, instead of Edward sitting in the chair next to me, it was my mother. All around me people were walking around; they were eating, drinking coffee, and talking. Sometimes they tried to talk to me, I tried to listen and talk with them but mostly I just couldn't keep a focus on anything.

At one point I was approached by Angela Newton and her husband, Mike. He tried to apologize for the accident but I wouldn't let him. I had a feeling that there was more to his story that I was told so far. Beside, I wasn't about to yell at the guy when his pregnant wife was standing there next to him, looking like she was ready to pop that kid out.

When I just couldn't sit there any longer, I got up and walked off through the Cullen's property. I slipped into the woods at the edge of the yard and followed a trail that was carved out from years of use. After a few minutes of walking I came up to a creek and sat down on the bank, slipped my shoes off, and dunked my feet in the water. I sat there for a while alone with my thoughts and tears until I could feel that someone was standing behind me.

EPOV:

I stood there staring at Bella sitting there crying. She had been standing outside my shop last night and I was so tempted to go to her and invite her in, but thought better of it. I was in no mood to be around anyone last night. I know that I would have been horrible and said things that I would have ended up regretting, so I turned and walked away.

I had watched her all morning but I don't think that she even realized that I was there. I saw her wandering off into the wooded area at the edge of my parent's property and didn't want her to end up getting lost in the woods. I don't think that she realized that while there was a clear path to the creek, if she had wandered off the trail she could have literally ended up getting lost in the mountains.

She finally realized that I was there and turned around to look at me. We stayed there staring at each other, just as we had last night, until she got up and walked past me without a word and headed back down the trail, back to my parent's yard. I sighed and sat down exactly where she had been sitting. I was sitting there for God knows how long before I looked over and saw that she had left her shoes lying there. How did she not notice that she wasn't wearing her shoes?

I grabbed the shoes, stood up, and started to make my way back. I found Bella standing with Rose, they were taking turns pushing Bree on her swing. I walked straight up to them and held out the shoes, "Missing something?"

She smiled slightly. "I realized halfway back but didn't want to bother you."

"I was the one that interrupted you. I didn't mean to chase you off like that." Rose just kept looking between us utterly confused, but she was no gossip and would never nose into anyone's business without an invitation. It was then that we were approached by Billy Black. I was shocked to see that he had dared to show his face at Charlie's funeral.

I moved closer to Bella and Bree, while Rose ran off to get Emmett. I didn't trust Billy, none of us did, and it was for good reason. He looked between me and Bella before speaking to her, "Bella, I just wanted to say that I am terribly sorry about Charlie." He went to take a step closer and I moved closer to Bella and my niece. Thankfully, Emmett and one of his deputies came out of the house and ran right for us.

"Black, you shouldn't be here."

"Why not? She said."I remember Charlie and Billy being best friends for years."

"Things change, Bella. Billy, you need to leave now before I have my deputy escort you all the way back to the reservation." Emmett said, using every ounce of authority that he had.

"I'm just an old man and I mean no harm, but I'm leaving. I said what I came to say." Then he turned and walked away without another word.

"Bella," Emmett turned to her, "I need you to promise me that if he approaches you again you will call me or my deputies immediately."

"Why are you guys being so cold and mean to him? What did he do?"

"It's a long story that I don't want to get into with my daughter in hearing range."

"You look exhausted and so does your mom," I nodded toward the patio where her mother was starting to doze off. "How about I give the two of you a ride home since you rode with my parents?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you."

"It's no problem Bella, besides I think that your Mom is falling asleep."

After saying goodbye to everyone and my Mom hugging Bella and promising her that they'd get together for lunch the next day I drove them back to Charlie's. As soon as we got there Renee announced that she was going to go soak in a hot tub with a glass of wine. She ended up taking the whole bottle of wine with her. Bella told Renee to go ahead sleep in the bedroom upstairs since she was planning to sit up and work tonight. She nodded and wandered off, mumbling something about time changes being the work of the devil. It was already seven here which would have made it ten in Florida. No wonder she was tired.

"I don't think that I've ever seen a funeral reception go on that long."

"Yeah, well, everyone loved Charlie."

"Yes, they did. Do you want a glass of wine before you go? Maybe some coffee?"

"Coffee sounds good."

She started a pot brewing while I turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels.

"So, you're going to work on your book, huh?"

"Yes, I really need to get it done."

"Is there anything I can do to help? Like proofread?"

"Are you trying to trick me into letting you read it before the rest of the world gets to?"

"You caught me."

"Well, you're too late. Rose already volunteered."

"I don't doubt that for a second. Hey, I'm really sorry for the way that I've behaved the last couple of days. I have a lot a shit happening right now but that was no excuse to take it out on you."

"You want to talk about it? You looked so sad last night. I almost called Emmett to go check on you."

"I got into it with my ex-wife…again. It definitely wasn't a call that I needed yesterday."

"Ahh…Tanya, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"Your Mom and Rose mentioned something about pictures of flowers from your wedding to her. I was curious why I hadn't heard anymore about it or seen her at all. But I didn't think it was my place to pry into your business."

"It's ok. The whole town knows. We got married just out of high school and took off to New York for college. We came back after we graduated. I took over the shop and she started working for Charlie. She had gotten a degree in criminal justice and Charlie had planned on making her something similar to a detective. But she couldn't get over how much she loved New York and decided that she was going back. I never really cared for New York; I only went there in the first place to make her happy. She knew that and when I told her that I'd go back if it meant that much to her, she told me that she didn't want me to, and that she wanted a divorce. It was during a meeting with our attorneys that she announced that she was pregnant. Our daughter was born six months ago and lives with Tanya and her new boyfriend, Demitri. That is why Charlie and I were so close. He was the only person that I could go to that knew exactly what I was going through."

"Because my mom did the same thing."

"Exactly."

"And you see my dysfunctional relationship with Charlie and think it could happen with you and your daughter."

"It absolutely terrifies me, Bella."

A/N:

I think I've found balance with my hectic life. I hope so anyway. Thanks to Sweetpea123 for betaing this for me. She is so awesome. Chapter 8 is off to her today so next week looks to be a go. I apologize for the delay in review replies I hope to get them out earlier this week. Reviews will get a teaser unless you tell me not to. See you next Saturday!


	8. Chapter 8

Assumption Chapter 8

Truth

BPOV:

"It absolutely terrifies me, Bella." I am stunned at what he just told me. His animosity towards me makes so much sense now. We sat there in silence, me watching him as he stared at the cup of coffee in his hands. The turn this conversation had taken meant that we were going to need something stronger than coffee. I got up and walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of bourbon that I had seen in the cabinet. I returned to the couch, sat down, and poured a healthy amount in each of our mugs. Edward looked up at me and smiled before lifting his mug and taking a large gulp.

"What is your daughter's name?" I asked, unable to stave off my curiosity any longer.

"Abigail Katrina Cullen."

"That's pretty."

"Thanks."

"So, how often do you get to see her?"

"We…uh…agreed on a six month split. At least until she starts school, then we'll have to come to some other arrangement. I don't want to hurt Tanya but I am not going to give up my daughter without a fight. Anyways, I just took her back to Tanya a month ago so I have five more months before she comes back home."

I smiled, "You know, I don't think you need to worry about your relationship with your daughter, Edward. You're already off to a better start than Charlie and me. Plus you have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes."

"You mean that you believe that he didn't love you? Because I know he did Bella. He told me so."

"Did he tell you that when my parents were first divorced they had the same six month split arrangement?"

"No."

"It only happened once then, I guess, Charlie decided that it was too much for him and he had the custody arrangement changed to one month in the summer and that was it. I found all the court documents once when Mom and I were moving."

"I had no idea he did that. That doesn't make sense. I…just don't get it."

"Everyone always tells me that I'm wrong and he loved me and wanted me, but I've never been able to believe that. He's the one that pushed me away, not the other way around." Our coffee gone, I poured each of us a cup of straight bourbon.

"I know you told me about the time he told you not to come, but there had to be more to it, right? More times than it appeared that he felt that way."

"It was a lot of times, Edward. When I was here I would try to talk to him and he'd be too interested in whatever game it was that was on to respond. If I pushed too hard he'd tell me that I should call Mom and let her know that I was alright or suggest that it was bedtime."

"Bella, he was never a very talkative person with any of us, especially if there was a game on. I figured out that if you waited until a commercial came on you were more apt to get a response."

"I was a child Edward; the last time that I was here I was fifteen. My mother was always involved in everything about my life. We had hour long conversations about our days every day. How was I supposed to get that about him when I rarely saw the man?"

"I guess in that context it would have been hard to get that."

"You told me that Jacob was arrested for murder right about the time that dad asked me not to come back. Did it…was that why?"

"Jacob ended up being more twisted than anyone thought. I was a senior in high school. Emmett had already graduated high school but was volunteering at the police station for the summer. He had dreams of becoming a lawyer at that point. All of a sudden there were these reports coming in about some guy that was watching teenage girls, like a peeping Tom. No one was able to say who it was because he kept his face covered, but the victims were all teenage girls with brown hair. Then the guy got more aggressive. He started leaving notes and pictures that he'd taken, saying things like, "I can't wait till we're together." The whole town was freaking out because no one knew who the guy was, it could have been anyone. Girls were refusing to go out on dates and the school dances were cancelled. It wasn't just happening in Forks, it was all the neighboring towns. It was a nightmare. Charlie took a lot of flak from the community for keeping you away, you know, protecting his daughter and failing to protect theirs. But I think by that point he had a lead on what was going on, he just needed to get everything lined up. Over the summer the guy seemed to get angrier and more desperate. It really got to the point that parents didn't let their teenage daughters even stay home alone, and trust me when I say that they were scared enough that they didn't argue at all. Hell, even us guys were looking at each other and wondering."

Edward stopped and finished off his drink before pouring himself another one. He took a deep breath and continued, "At the end of the summer it all came to an end when Jacob lost it and got caught. Jessica Stanley was a junior and working part time for Newton's Sporting Goods. Her parent's allowed her to keep her job as long as she never worked alone and Mr. Newton walked her home. One night Mr. Newton was too sick to take her home and Jessica said it would be alright if Michael walked her. Jessica and Michael had been dating since she was a freshman and she was positive that it wasn't him. He would never do the things that were happening. They left together and neither of them made it home that night. They were found a block from the store. Michael had been hit in the head with a tire iron and left unconscious and bleeding. And Jessica was dead. I won't go into details about how brutal the murder was, it's too disturbing."

"How did they find out it was Jacob?"

"Your dad already suspected it but Jacob screwed up and left DNA behind. Jessica apparently fought back hard and he left the tire iron with his prints behind. That was a stupid move that shows just how unstable he had become by that point. Michael still hasn't forgiven himself for failing to protect her. That is why he drinks. Guilt."

"Wow. That's really sick. What I don't understand is why you guys think that Billy is dangerous to me?"

"Before Charlie could get the arrest and search warrants to go on the Reservation, Billy helped Jacob destroy every bit of evidence they could get their hands on. Whatever there was they thought was evidence, they burned it all in a bonfire in their backyard. Then Billy tried to hide Jacob. Charlie had no choice but to charge Billy with accessory to murder and obstruction of justice. Billy served two years in jail and has since threatened to ruin Charlie's family like Charlie ruined his. He blames Charlie for Jacob going to jail. He thinks that as Charlie's best friend he should have given Jacob a pass and let Billy deal with it. Billy tried to make Charlie feel guilty for arresting Jacob, like Charlie was the one that did something wrong and betrayed their friendship. He really blamed Charlie for his son being tried for murdering Jessica. Charlie was devastated that he was betrayed by his own best friend like that."

"How did they finally get to Jacob?"

"Sam Uley turned him in. He pretended to be willing to hide him and then called the cops the moment Jacob fell asleep."

"Why didn't Charlie tell me any of this? I would have understood."

"I don't know. I thought he had. I really did."

"No. He just made it seem like he didn't want me here again," I said as I covered my face with my hands and sobbed.

EPOV:

I finally got it. Once I stopped and really listened to what she was saying, I got it. Charlie tried to protect her by not telling her of the danger there was for her here and he ended up sacrificing his relationship with her. That being said, she could have tried a little harder to keep him in her life. I reached over and pulled her into my arms and held her as I thought about all the ways that their relationship could have been salvaged by just talking to each other.

I just sat there holding her in silence until she calmed down. I grabbed the bottle of bourbon and went to pour her another glass when she stopped me, saying she didn't want to get any more drunk than she already was. I couldn't believe that I told her everything about Tanya and our failed marriage. I hadn't intended to, it just all came pouring out. That call from Tanya last night had thrown me. I hated that she could still make me feel like I wasn't enough. That the excitement of living in the big city meant more to her than I did.

I don't think that many of us in town will ever be able to forget Jessica or the way that she died, but Michael and Angela took it the hardest. He loved Jess, and Angela was her best friend. It was the loss of someone so special to each that brought them together. There is no doubt in my mind that they love each other completely. That has never been a question in my mind since they got together. I simply worry about Michael's drinking binges. He has never been irresponsible about it like he was a few days ago when he caused that accident with Bella. He could have seriously hurt or killed her and then where would Angela be? Alone and raising a baby as a single mother.

"Do you still want to work on your book?"

"I need to, but I don't think I'm clear headed enough to right now. I have no idea where to go from the point I'm stuck at. I keep waiting for inspiration to hit me and it never comes," she said shaking her head.

"Wanna tell me about it? I might be able to help you."

"Not tonight. How about we plan on dinner tomorrow and we can talk about it. I might even let you look at my manuscript and tell me what you think."

"Wow, I'd be happy to. You'd really trust me to do that?"

"Normally, I wouldn't let anyone look, but I really need a second set of eyes and I think you could give me the perspective that I need."

"Did you want me to leave now so you can get to sleep? You must be tired."

"I'm tired but there is no way that I am getting to sleep anytime soon. How about a movie?"

"A movie sounds good." We flipped through the stations until Bella found Tower Heist on On Demand and started playing that. I hadn't seen it yet but she said it was hilarious.

We watched the movie in silence. She was wrong and it wasn't long before she was fast asleep. I covered her with a blanket that was hanging on the back of the couch and made sure that the house was locked before I made my way home. Luckily, I had had enough time to sober up before I had to get behind the wheel of my car.

I walked into my apartment and stopped to look at a picture of Abby that I had sitting on an end table in the living room. I carried it with me as I walked to my room and collapsed onto my bed. I laid there staring at it for a long time before I turned over and placed it next to the one that I kept on my nightstand. I forced myself to get up and get ready for bed knowing that I would regret it in morning if I didn't. I crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly, knowing that morning would come sooner than I'd like it to and I had be up early to open the store. I had kept the store closed today due to the funeral so I was bound to be quite busy. And maybe I might be looking forward to seeing Bella again tomorrow night for dinner.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Wow! Thank you so much to everyone that has been reading and reviewing. I feel so blessed to have so many familiar names and new readers joining me on this journey. Reviews will get teasers of Chapter 9, which went off to Sweetpea123, my awesome beta, a few minutes ago. See you next Saturday.


	9. Chapter 9

Assumption Chapter 9

Another Goodbye

BPOV:

I woke the next morning alone on the couch. Edward must have covered me before leaving last night. I felt bad for falling asleep on him but it had been a really long, hard day. I lay there thinking about Edward and how his life paralleled mine and Charlie's for a long time. It was shocking when he told me about how his wife had left him, while she was pregnant as well. He had a daughter that was living with her mother on the other side of the country. The similarities were completely unnerving.

I was still lying there thinking about Edward when my mother came downstairs. She was half asleep and stumbling through the living room. I remained where I was listening to her banging around the kitchen in an attempt to make a pot of coffee. I smiled to myself; I've missed my mom since she moved to Florida.

I decided to lie there a few minutes more, until I could hear that the coffee was done brewing before I got up and joined my mother in the kitchen. Experience with her told me that it was better to let her completely wake up before anyone started to interact with her. She was never the most coherent person before her first cup of coffee.

I quietly walked into the kitchen to see that Mom was still sitting at the table with her head lying on her arms and her eyes were closed. I made both of us cups of coffee and sat down across from her and waited for her to sit up.

We were on our second pot of coffee when I got up and started making us some real food for breakfast. I did nothing more complicated than just bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast.

"Mom, why didn't you push Charlie and me to try harder when I was a kid?"

"I never knew that there was a problem. Neither of you ever said that there was an issue to address until you stopped going to Forks completely. And don't call him Charlie; he deserves the respect of you calling him Dad."

"Sorry."

She nodded and then continued, "By the time that I knew there was an issue it was too late, you were so stubborn and refused to listen to any of us when it came to your Dad. You had been dealing with your father and scheduling your visits with him for a couple of years, I really didn't think it was any big surprise when you announced that you weren't going to Forks that summer. You never hid your hate for this town and given Jamie being in your life, and your job, I was sure that you were going to back out."

"Why did Dad alter the visitation schedule when I was a baby?"

"How did you know about that?"

"I found the papers once."

She sighed and shook her head, "Bella, you have to understand that his job was 24/7. Every time he'd get called out in the middle of the night, he'd have to scramble to find someone to stay with you or wake you and take you to the station with him. Plus, his parent's health was deteriorating fast and he was their only choice for a caretaker. It was a very hard time for him and it wasn't an easy decision for him by any means. But it was the only option that he could see that would be best for both of you."

After we were done eating Mom told me to go on upstairs and get ready for the day while she washed the dishes, saying that since I cooked she'd do the dishes. It felt almost like our lives when I was a teenager; I always cooked and she did the cleaning. The last time that she was allowed to do any cooking, she, Phil, and I ended up in the emergency room with food poisoning. Phil and I banned her from cooking after that.

Esme arrived while I was still upstairs and she had Rose and Bree with her. We were all going up to Port Angeles to hang out until it was time for Mom's flight. She was flying out of the Port Angeles Airport and up to Seattle before continuing on to Florida. She was going to have a long day of traveling and layovers ahead of her today.

I was sad to see my Mom go but understood that she had to get back to her life. We spent the remainder of the morning popping in and out of various shops. Mom was completely taken with Bree. I knew that she wanted grandchildren but I was not in a place to give them to her. She would have to settle for attempting to steal her friend's grandkids for now. Then it hit me that Charlie would never meet any of the children I had in the future. That thought devastated me. I had never really thought about having kids before and what kind of relationship they'd have with their grandfather, but now I knew they wouldn't have one.

We stopped for lunch at Bella Italia and Mom told me about how Charlie had brought her here for their first date. Well, it was their first date without their parents having to drive them up to Port Angeles. Charlie had just gotten his driver's license and was eager to take her on a real date. They came here for dinner and then went to see a movie.

"I can still remember how nervous he was driving us all the way to Port Angeles in his mother's car. I think he drove ten miles under the speed limit the whole way," She told us, making us all laugh. She told us many more stories about Charlie when they were young. Esme knew a few of them but as she and Carlisle were older than Mom and Dad they never ran in the same circles as teenagers.

As soon as lunch was over it was time for Mom to say goodbye. Esme and Rose promised to look after me for however long I remained in Forks settling Charlie's estate. Then she made me promise her that I would call her if I needed anything and if need be, she could be on a plane back here within a couple of hours. I hugged her hard for the longest time before I let her go. She didn't want me to follow her to the airport saying that there was no need. She was right; I wouldn't get past security without buying a ticket and she wasn't going to have that long to wait before her flight.

I watched her until her car was gone and then turned to find Esme patiently waiting for me. "Rose took Bree into the toy store at the end of the block to grab something that Emmett wanted for his birthday." I guess I should be surprised that a grown man, who was thinking about running for Sherriff, wanted something from a toy store, but from what I've learned about Emmett in the few days that I'd been here, I thought it made perfect sense.

Esme and I waited quietly out on the sidewalk for Rose and Bree to be done so that we could make our way back to Forks. They didn't take long and soon enough we were on the road. It was when we were about half way home when my phone started to ring. I didn't recognize the number on the caller ID but I answered it anyway, "Hello?"

"Ms. Swan? This is Ben Cheney. I just wanted to let you know that I have your car done and it's just like new." I had forgotten that my car was in the shop…again. It just didn't seem as important to me anymore. I really liked driving around in the old truck that Charlie had bought me. Now I was going to have to decide what I was going to do with it.

EPOV:

I have this really bad habit of thinking that I hit the snooze button when in reality I've turned off the alarm clock. When I finally woke up I was fifteen minutes late in opening the store. I threw on the first thing I could grab out of my closet and ran downstairs. I found Alice Whitlock standing outside on the sidewalk waiting for me to open. Alice is the Librarian for all of Forks Public Schools. I had been expecting her to be in soon to discuss the fall reading list. The town closed the public library a couple of years ago due to financial reasons and lack of interest. The biggest problem was that they weren't buying anything new to put on the shelves. After the library closed Alice came to me, concerned about the kids in town whose parents could not afford to buy the kids new books all the time, so together we came up with an exchange program. One corner of my shop was dedicated to used books. You bring in a book you can take a book. It's almost like having the library back but on a smaller scale. Alice would love to be able to do more with the school library, but she has to deal with budgets and bureaucracy__and her hands are literally tied. I try to throw in a copy or two of any new release that is going to be in very high demand. I don't think it's fair that some kids have to wait months to read a book that all their friends are reading just because their parents don't make much money.

Then we have the reading club. We run it like a contest and run it three times a year; summer, fall semester, and spring semester. There are three winners, one in the elementary division, middle school, and high school. We decided that to be fair we had to invite the kids from the Reservation to join as well. While, for the most part, the kids get to choose which books they want to read and there are certain ones that we make mandatory. We want to be sure that the kids are reading to their levels and learning something and are being challenged in the process. And not cheat. The winners each get a $100 gift certificate to my store so I want to make sure that it doesn't go to some high school student who cheated by picking "Pat the Bunny" or "The Little Engine That Could." Someone would do that. I can guarantee it.

It took Alice and me five hours and lunch ordered in to complete the first draft of the three book lists for the fall semester. There were several books that I was going to need to order because I didn't keep them in stock, and a couple that were going to be released in the fall that I knew the kids were getting excited about.

After Alice left I had a couple more customers come in, but for the most part I was left alone with my thoughts. I was excited about dinner with Bella tonight and hoped that she would indeed let me see her manuscript. That would be so freaking amazing.

By the time that it was six I was ready to close up and get out of here. All I had left to do to close down was to lock the door and I did that as I was running out to go to Charlie's. I contemplated quickly whether I should drive or walk since it was likely that we would start drinking again. I looked up at the sky and realized that it was about to start raining any second and I would be better off by driving there. I figured that if I didn't feel comfortable driving myself home I could crash at Emmett and Rose's for the night. But, honestly, this "drinking so much" thing needed to stop; it wasn't me and I really didn't think that it was who Bella was, either. I think the stress of everything was getting to her and that was fine for a short term thing, I guess. As long as it didn't become a problem. Now I was sounding ridiculous. I rolled my eyes at myself.

I pulled into Charlie's drive way to see that Bella's fancy car was there. I looked at it closely as I got out of my car. Ben really did an amazing job fixing it up. You couldn't tell it had ever even had a scratch on it.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! I want to thank my awesome beta sweetpea123 for cleaning this up. She's getting Chapter 10 tonight so we should be on target for another update next Saturday. Thank you to everyone that is reading and who are reviewing for giving my story a chance. Reviews will get teasers.


	10. Chapter 10

Assumption Chapter 10

Contemplation

BPOV:

After Esme dropped me off at home I spent most of the afternoon just wandering around the house. I ended up in Charlie's room sitting on the foot of his bed. Charlie hadn't changed anything since the last time that I was here. I was going to have to start going through everything soon. Deciding what to do with most of his stuff was going to be hard. I just didn't know where to start. Maybe I could ask Esme to help me? That was probably a good idea. She would probably know of a charity or two that could use Charlie's clothes. That was the only thing I could think of to do with them. It was the larger items that I had no clue what to do with. Like his boat, what was I going to do with a boat in an apartment in Phoenix?

I sighed, stood up, and made my way back downstairs. I still had a ton of food in my fridge but all I really wanted for dinner was pizza. I was still searching for a take-out menu when there was a knock on the door. I smiled, knowing that Edward was here. I was entirely terrified at the thought of sharing my unfinished manuscript with him, as I had never done that before with anyone besides my editor, and that was only once because I needed her office to research something for me. I couldn't explain why I felt that I could trust him; I just did and given the way we'd been with each other over the past few days made it even crazier.

I opened the door and stood there with my hands on my hips, "I'm not letting you in here or anywhere near my manuscript unless you can find me a good pizza place that will deliver," I told him with complete seriousness.

He laughed, "I do believe that I am more than capable of meeting that demand. But may I come in first or do I need to place the order from the porch before I can enter?"

I stood to the side and let him in, "Does this place you're thinking of have cheese bread? I am so craving cheese bread in a bad way right now."

"Actually, they have the best cheese bread that I've ever had."

I tossed my phone to him, "Use mine so I have the number in case I need it again while I'm here."

"Anything in particular you want on the pizza?"

"Anything and everything , except for mushrooms."

He laughed again and started dialing while I went to the kitchen to get us something to drink. I was going to be working tonight so I was going to stick with pop, but I had some beer in the fridge in case that was what Edward wanted.

"The food will be her e in about an hour," he said, coming up behind me and startling me as I poured my pop into a glass, causing me to spill some on the counter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he said, before walking over to the sink and handing me the dish rag.

"Do you want some pop? I have beer if you'd rather have that," I asked as I cleaned up the mess on the counter.

"Pop is good. At least with that I won't have to worry about not being able to drive home tonight and having to sleep on Emmett's couch."

"You could have crashed in the spare bedroom upstairs if you needed to."

"What spare…you mean your room?"

"Yeah. That room."

"Then where would you have slept? I would be putting you out of your bed, Bella. I couldn't do that to you," he looked at me in confusion.

"I don't sleep up there. I take that back, I slept up there one night when Mom fell asleep on the couch, but I prefer to sleep down here on the couch myself."

"Why would you do that? Or do you sleep on a couch back in Phoenix? You aren't one of the 'eccentric' authors that does weird shit, are you? You don't have five hundred cats in your apartment, do you?"

I smacked him on the shoulder, "No, I am not! I just don't feel comfortable sleeping in there, like I don't belong …hell, I don't really belong in this house at all." I poured his glass of soda and turned to walk back to the living room, "And I only have one cat. That is if Vicky gives her back to me when I get home."

I sat down on the couch and picked my laptop up off the coffee table and started to boot it up. If I was going to do this, I going to have to do it before I lost my nerve. Edward joined me a couple of minutes later, I didn't know what held him up in the kitchen, nor did I want to ask. He just sat there watching me while I pulled up the files on my computer.

As soon as everything was up I held the computer out to him. He looked from me to it several times before tentatively reaching out and grabbing it, like I was going to change my mind at any second and pull it back. It was a tempting idea. I sat there as he smiled and looked down at the files in front of him. I knew that he read my books.

I hated it whenever anyone would start reading one of my books in front of me. It made me too self-conscious. I tried to turn on the TV and find something to watch, but after the third time flipping through the channels I gave up and turned it back off. I wandered over to my bag and grabbed a book that I was reading out and tried to read it but I couldn't concentrate. It might have had a lot to do with the fact that I was back to sitting on the couch right next to Edward. I ended up sitting there and staring at him, like if I stared hard enough I'd be able to read his mind and see what he really thought of my story.

I sat there watching him for a long time before I finally forced myself to look away. It also wasn't the first time since I met him that I appreciated how handsome he was. When I just couldn't take it anymore, I stood up and walked outside to wait on the porch for the pizza to be delivered. I had only been sitting there for a few minutes reading my book when I found myself staring at a pair of men's shoes. I looked up and smiled to find Carlisle standing in front of me.

EPOV:

I stood in the kitchen after she walked out, dumbfounded by what she said. I could vaguely remember her making similar comments in the last few days but it hadn't really clicked with me until now. Maybe it was because I now knew exactly what had happened between her and Charlie and how she had felt unwanted by him that I now caught that comment for what it was. It made me so sad that she felt that way. He'd told me on more than one occasion how much he missed her and wished that she would visit. I do regret never asking him why _he_ never visited _her._ That fault lies with both of them. He could have gone to Arizona just as easily as she could have come here. I never understood why he did and I always chickened out of asking him, never wanting to overstep my bounds and upset him. Besides that, she had to know that my family and I wanted her here.

I finally came to my senses and went in to the living room where I found her sitting on the couch with her computer on her lap. I sat down quietly and waited to see if she was really going to let me read her book. I had been looking forward to this all day, but at this point I wouldn't have cared if she changed her mind and we just sat there and talked all night. I hesitated when she held the computer out to me, giving her one last chance to change her mind but she didn't. I found myself sitting there, staring at the screen, unable to focus on the words that were written there. Bella was one of my favorite authors and to get this chance, to read what she was writing long before anyone else did. ..well, I could never repay her for a gift of this magnitude. This opportunity was priceless.

The book was off to an amazing start. I was a little irked because I had been hoping that she would start the book with the answer to the cliffhanger she'd left the last one on, but nope, there was not one mention of it. I was trying to read quickly, yet thoroughly, so I would get as much as possible out of it and be able to help her and give her advice. That was why she was letting me read it in the first place.

Overall, it was just as amazing as the rest of the series had been, but I started to notice that something was off in the story a couple of chapters in. The characters weren't acting like themselves at all. I reached over to the end table and grabbed the notepad that Charlie always kept there and started making notes. I had just finished writing when Bella walked back into the house with the pizza and my father. The first I was thrilled about, as I was starving, the second surprised the hell out of me. Bella sat the pizza on the table and walked off into the kitchen. I could hear her opening cabinets so I assumed that she was getting us some plates.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

"Your Mom and I are watching Bree tonight so your brother and Rose can have a date night. They fell asleep on the couch so I wandered outside, only to see Bella sitting on the porch and your car in the driveway. I got curious so I came over to see what you two were up to tonight."

"She's letting me help her with her book."

"That's what she said." Bella walked back in the room and handed me a plate and then offered Dad one. He declined, saying that he'd just eaten dinner and wasn't hungry but he did take the beer that Bella offered him. I put the computer down while I was eating so I wouldn't accidentally get food all over it.

The three of us sat there talking about absolutely nothing of consequence as we ate. Even though Dad claimed not to be hungry he grabbed a piece of the cheese bread, saying that there was no way that he could pass that up. I had ordered from Maggie's Pizza. Maggie made the best pizza in the world. I couldn't find anything in New York that compared to it in my mind. Charlie and my family always ordered from Maggie. I would have to take Bella in there sometime and introduce them. Then I realized that it didn't really matter because Bella would be leaving town again as soon as she finished settling Charlie's estate, and then she'd never be back. That thought made me sad. Part of it was because Charlie was a great man and I never wanted to see the memory of him to dim from the people of Forks that he served so faithfully, and partly because I was sure that I might actually miss her.

"So, Bella, I see that Ben got your car fixed. What are you going to do with the truck now that you don't need it?" Dad asked her, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to their conversation.

"Actually, I am going to keep it and drive it as my main vehicle. I am trying to decide whether to sell the car or just put in storage in case I need it if the truck has to be serviced." Dad and I looked at her in complete shock. I would never have imagined that she would choose Charlie's old truck over her fancy car. Forget I _might_ miss her; I was _definitely_ going to miss having her around when she had to return to her life in Phoenix.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Thanks to my wonderful beta, Sweetpea123 for being an amazing person and a great help to me. I did make a couple changes after I got this back from her so all mistakes are mine.

Anybody here reading Rowling's first endeavor away from Potter? I'm loving it. Such an amazing story.

Here's to a full weekend of school plays, fundraiser runs, orchestra rehearsals, and laundry! See you next Saturday!


	11. Chapter 11

Assumptions Chapter 11

Dreams

BPOV:

Carlisle sat and talked with us for a while before he decided that he should head back across the street before Esme woke up and panicked when he was gone. I wandered into the kitchen and started washing our dinner dishes while Edward went back to reading. It was another hour before he made it to the point where I had crashed and burned. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad but I was stuck with no idea how to fix the disaster that my book had become.

I made the decision that no matter what Edward said to me tonight, I was going to go back to Charlie's fishing spot in the morning and try again to get some writing done. After I was done with the dishes I went to throw a load of laundry in the washer. When I turned around I was surprised to find Edward standing right behind me, "I'm done." I just nodded and followed him back to the living room and sat down next to him on the couch.

"First of all, thank you for letting me do this. After the way that I've treated you I can't believe that you trusted me with this."

"That makes two of us. I never let anyone see my unfinished manuscripts. So where did I screw up?"

"I don't think it's a matter of screwing up, Bella, I love the direction you've gone and most of the scenes that you wrote, in theory. I mean, I see the potential of them if you can get the anger out of them. Mostly it's the character of Celeste, here she starts off being normal, well normal for her, at the beginning of the book and then, all of a sudden, there is all this hostility coming from her that isn't her. I'd like to think that I know your characters just as well as you do. I'm sorry if that is arrogant, but it's true. She would never behave as rudely as you have her acting and that right there is where your problem is. Let me ask you this, you were half way through chapter eight when your boyfriend broke up with you, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"I knew it. That is where the shift is. It's like you were taking your anger and venting it through the story."

I grabbed the computer from where he left it sitting on the coffee table and started rereading that chapter for the hundredth time. Edward started pointing out specific instances of what he had been noticing and I was dumbfounded. I had read that chapter at least a hundred times and never noticed that my characters were acting so outrageously out of character that it was shameful. I had had no idea that I had transferred all of my anger and resentment into my book. But now that I knew where and what the problem was I knew how to fix it. I was already formulating the scene and dialogue in my head. I was so thrilled to be over the block that I nearly grabbed Edward and kissed him. Luckily, I thought better of it and didn't embarrass myself like that. I really didn't see Edward reacting well to me jumping him on my father's couch.

Edward and I talked about the book for another hour before he decided to head home to go to bed. I, however, curled up on the couch with my blanket, a cup of tea, and my laptop and went to work. About midnight I got up and grabbed the remainder of the pizza out of the fridge and ate it cold. The last time that I remembered looking at the clock it was three in the morning.

I was writing a sex scene between two of my main characters when I looked up at the kitchen door and found Edward standing there with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Without taking his eyes off of me he stalked into the room and sat down on the couch beside me. He was sitting as close to me as was humanly possible. He pour each of us a glass of wine and handed me mine. Our eyes locked as we took our first sips of wine. He grabbed the glass out of my hand and put both of them on the coffee table and then pulled me into his lap.

He pulled my face closer to him and started to kiss me. There was more fire and passion in that kiss than any other I'd ever had in my entire life. It wasn't long before he started kissing my jaw and neck, making me moan. And his lips weren't the only part of him that was wandering. His hands were on my ass and pulling me closer to him. I could feel him and he was so hard against me and it only made me moan more. I removed my hands from where I had them threaded through his hair and pulled my nightgown off, leaving me completely naked on his lap. His shirt joined mine mere seconds later as I struggled to get his jeans unbuttoned.

The rest moved so fast and before I knew what was happening I was riding him at a frantic pace but it felt so amazing. I was almost there. I was so, so close and I could tell that he was too, when there was a banging on the door. It startled both of us and Edward jumped up so fast that I went flying off his lap and hit the coffee table.

The next thing I knew I was laying on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. The banging on the front door came louder and this time it was joined by Rose calling out for me. I sat up and was confused when I realized that I was still dressed in my yoga pants and t-shirt that I had been wearing the night before. I looked around and saw that my computer was lying on the floor beside me and I realized that I must have fallen asleep. I wanted to cry when it hit me that it was all just a dream. It was a fucking amazing dream, but still just a dream.

I got up and stomped to the front door, wanting to yell at Rosalie for having the worst timing in the world and waking me when she did. I never got a chance to because she started freaking out the second I opened the door, "OH MY GOD! Bella! Your head is bleeding."

"It is?" I asked reaching up to my forehead only to realize that I was, indeed, bleeding. Rosalie pushed past me into the house and ran for the kitchen. She returned quickly carrying some ice wrapped in a towel and my purse.

"How do you not know that you have a head wound, especially one that obviously needs stitches. We need to get you to the ER. I'm so glad that Carlisle is on duty today so he can take care of you."

I looked down and noticed for the first time that Bree was sitting on a chair on the porch playing with a doll. Rose scooped her up while herding me to my car like I was about to bleed to death at any second. I tried to reassure her that I was fine but she was not about to listen to me. I gave up and climbed into her SUV and all of a sudden I realized I was feeling dizzy.

EPOV:

It was a never ending stream of customers since I opened the doors this morning. I didn't even get lunch and I was now starving. I didn't get days like this very often but I was grateful for them when they came around. That didn't mean that I wasn't completely exhausted by the time that I walked the last customers out of the store and locked the door behind them. I surveyed the store and it was a complete disaster from people carrying books around and then changing their minds. I just don't understand why they have to just drop the books wherever they were standing. Why not put it back right or just give it to me? Cleaning up this mess was destined to be an all night project.

I was stuck reorganizing a whole shelf of romance novels that ironically included Bella's when there was a knock on the window behind me. I turned to see my father standing there, waving at me. I pointed at the door and went to let him in.

"I figured that you would be having dinner with Bella tonight. It's getting late, shouldn't you be getting ready to go over there? " He asked me as he walked in and went to sit in the chair behind the cash register.

"We don't have plans to get together tonight. Why would you think that we did?"

"Oh. I just assumed that… I was going to have you call me and let me know if she was alright. Rose promised to stay with her until she had to go home and start dinner and I just thought since you've been spending so much time together lately you would be heading over there."

"What happened that Rose had to stay with her?"

"She hit her head pretty hard this morning and cut herself bad enough that she needed stitches."

"How did she hit her head?"

"I never did get that out of her. But falling and tripping are common experiences for Bella. I tell you, it was a true dejavu moment for me. Do you know how many times I had to fix her up when she was a kid and came to visit Charlie? The girl is the original definition of a klutz."

"Yeah, I've seen that a few times since she's been here this week. Maybe I should go check on her. Just to make sure that she's alright. Are you sure that she didn't have a concussion?"

"I'm sure about that. I would have called Esme and sent her over to watch over her if that was the case. She's dealt with plenty of concussions with your brother when he was playing football." Dad stood to leave, "I better get home to my supper before your mother starts worrying about me. But hey, if you need an excuse for stopping by Bella's, your mom was going to call on her tomorrow to invite her over for dinner. Ask her for us will you? And then let us know."

"Sure, I'll ask her." Dad walked out of the door and I locked it behind him. I stood staring at the mess that was my store for less than a minute before I was out the door and on my way to Bella's.

I pulled into the drive way and immediately noticed that Bella had all the lights on in the house. It took several tries of knocking on the door before I saw her running down the stairs to let me in. I almost yelled out to her not to run and sure enough, she slipped a little at the bottom of the stairs. Luckily, she was able to catch herself before she fell and smacked her head one the stairs. I groaned when she laughed at herself like it was funny that she was so accident prone.

"I guess you heard?" she joked as she opened the door.

"Yeah, Dad stopped by the store. He was worried about you."

"Did he ask you to come check on me because Rose refused to leave until she absolutely had to?"

"Actually, mom wanted to know if you would join us for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh." She looked taken aback, "You know, yeah, I will. There's something that I need to talk to her about." I followed her into the living room and watched as she flopped down on the couch, "Hey, I wanted to thank you again for your help. I was able to get a lot of work done last night."

"It was really my pleasure, Bella. So how did you hurt yourself, anyway?"

"Uh, I just fell and hit my head on the coffee table," she mumbled while blushing. I didn't get how she could be laughing about slipping a minute ago and now she was blushing and being evasive? There was some that she was not telling me. I tried again to get the truth out of her but she refused to elaborate. I gave up quickly, not wanting to irritate her and changed the subject, "So what were you doing upstairs? I knocked several times."

"Oh, I was in Charlie's room setting up boxes."

"Boxes?"

"I have to start packing up Charlie's things, Edward. Trust me, I don't really _want_ to do it, but I _have_ to do it."

"I know that, Bella. I've been expecting it. Doesn't mean that it's easy for me to think about, but I'm a realist. Do you want some help?"

Her head shot up, "You'd be willing to help me?"

"Yeah, I think it could be therapeutic, in a strange way."

"That was my thought when I decided to just do it. I thought that putting it off wasn't going to make it any easier." She was right. Doing it tomorrow or next month, it wouldn't make a difference at all. It was going to be hell going through all of Charlie's belongings and deciding what to keep, what to give away, and what to throw in the garbage. That part was going to make my heart hurt. I couldn't even think about having to throw away anything that belonged to Charlie into a garbage can. Is that what all of our lives were reduced to? After we were dead, if our family didn't see the value in our most prized treasures, they just ended up in the garbage, no matter how much it meant to you when you were alive?

A/N:

ok. I am so sorry about last week. I meant to warn everyone when I posted chapter 10 that 11 would be delayed and I forgot to add it to the author's note. It was a busy week for me with my office moving and then I went away for the weekend. Which, I can tell you that floating around a hotel pool when you have said pool completely to yourself really helps your creativity. It was so good for me. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for her awesome betaing skills. Next week should be on schedule and reviews will get teasers.


	12. Chapter 12

Assumption Chapter 12

Cleansing

BPOV:

I woke up earlier than I had intended to. Way earlier than I had ever wanted to. One of the best things about being an author is setting your own hours and getting to sleep in every day. I wandered downstairs and made a pot of coffee and curled up on the couch. It was so quiet. Back home you never got this kind of peace, there were always TVs blaring, doors slamming, and sirens from emergency vehicles as they raced by. Here there was absolutely nothing and I was actually enjoying it.

I waited until I knew that Jamie would be up and getting ready for work before I called to check in with him and Vicky. I hadn't talked to them in a few days and I knew they were going to start worrying about me if I didn't call soon… "It's about time that I heard from you'" Jamie answered. " I was beginning to think that since it's you, you fell in the ocean."

"Ha. Ha. I've just been busy."

"Busy doing what? It's Forks! From everything I've heard from you and Renee, there is nothing to do there but fish. And you don't do nature."

"Nature isn't _that_ bad."

"Am I talking to the right Bella Swan? Because the girl I know detests the great outdoors."

"Shut up! I just..I don't know…It's more peaceful and prettier here than I remember it being. It's been great for clearing my head."

We talked for a while about just about everything. He wasn't happy that I let Edward see my book and help me with it. He was afraid that it could cause me legal trouble if Edward wanted to claim that I stole ideas he gave me. Edward wouldn't do that to me. I knew he wouldn't. But Jamie wouldn't listen. I was struggling to keep my temper in check and not lash out at him by the end of the call. I had to keep reminding myself that he didn't know Edward, not that Jamie missed an opportunity to remind me that _I _didn't really know the guy either, that I had just met him a few days ago. Mostly, I knew that he was just jealous of Edward. Jamie always wanted to read my books early and I had always refused to let him.

By the time I was off the phone it was nearly time for Edward and Esme to get here to help me pack up Charlie's things. Rose was going to Edward's bookstore to run it for him. I guess it was common for her and Esme to work the store for him on occasion to give him a day off. Carlisle was taking Bree up to Port Angeles for the afternoon to keep her busy and out of the way while we worked.

I was dressed and back in my kitchen looking in the fridge for something to eat for breakfast but I wasn't having any luck. All I found was fruit and eggs. I didn't want healthy and light today. I wanted naughty and heavy. I was just about to give up when I heard Esme's car pull into the driveway. I looked out the window and grew excited when I saw Edward climb out of the passenger seat carrying what could only be a pastry box. I turned to the coffee pot and started a new pot brewing. It was such a rainy, dreary morning today. Perfect weather for the tasks we had to do today. We sat at the table eating our doughnuts mostly in silence. When we were done, I grabbed the box of trash bags off the counter and the three of us made our way up to Charlie's bedroom. I started with the dresser while Edward and Esme tackled the closet. I threw his underwear and socks in the garbage while placing some shirts he had in the drawers neatly in a box. Edward was removing the clothes from the closet and placing them on the bed for Esme to take off the hangers and fold before placing them in the same box that I was using. We were still working in silence. I don't think that any of us knew what to say or what topic of conversation would be appropriate given that we were sorting through my dead father's life . I wondered if there was an etiquette book out there that covered this situation. If there wasn't then someone needed to write one, because I could use some help here. Maybe I would suggest that to my editor someday. As long as someone else wrote it.

We worked until lunch time when Emmett showed up with burgers and fries from the Diner. He had worked his last night shift last night and after a day off today would be on the day shift for the next two weeks. I found out that they run three two week rotations; day shift, evening shift, and night shift. Emmett managed to get us laughing by telling stories of Edward and him as kids. When we were ready to get back to work, Emmett stayed to help us. By the end of the day, we had Charlie's room and the bathroom packed up. The boxes were stacked in the living room, ready to be carried out to my truck when I was ready to drive them to the Goodwill store in Port Angeles. It was still pouring so they had to stay in the house for now. On the curb Emmett and Edward had placed the four bags of Charlie's possessions that we felt weren't appropriate to send to the Goodwill.

Before Emmett left he pulled a packet of papers out of his car and brought them to me. To get his name on the ballot to run for sheriff he had to turn in a petition with at least 150 signatures of people supporting him, and he asked me if I would be the first person to sign it. I agreed with him that it would look really good for him if, as Charlie's daughter, I was the first to support him. I smiled and signed my name on the first line. Rose, he said, had to be the next to sign, and then he would get his parents and Edward before his guys at work signed it. I hoped that it didn't matter that I wasn't technically a citizen of the town, but Edward contradicted me. I officially owned Charlie's house now, therefore, I was technically a citizen of Forks. With the way that the town's bylaws were written, I could even run for town council if I felt so inclined. I didn't. But it was interesting to know that I had an option, I guess.

Esme insisted that Edward and I come have dinner with her and Carlisle again tonight. I don't know about Edward but I had been hoping that she would ask. I really did not want to be alone in this house right now. I moved the bedding I had taken off Charlie's bed from the washer to the dryer and changed my clothes before I was to head over to the Cullen's house. I was dirty and sweaty and there was no way that I was going out looking as bad I did.

EPOV:

I hated the idea of throwing out even one thing of Charlie's in the garbage. It seemed disrespectful on some level. The fact that we ended up with four bags of garbage just from his room and the bathroom was killing me. There was still a lot more work that needed to be done. Bella told us that she needed to spend a good part of the day working on her book, but was going to spend a couple of hours in the evening sorting through more of the house.

The hardest part of knowing that she was cleaning out the house was realizing that when she was done cleaning she would be putting the house up for sale, and then she was going to leave. She had no reason to stay here, her life was in Phoenix. It didn't matter that I now considered her to be a friend. The reality was that the idea of anyone else living in Charlie's house was an impossible concept for me to wrap my head around. It would always be Charlie's house to me.

I took a really quick shower and was downstairs waiting for Bella to pick me up in fifteen minutes. Emmett and Rose already had plans for dinner so she left as soon as she closed down the store. I was grateful that my mom and sister-in-law were willing to help me out as much as they did. I kept the store closed on Sundays because everything but the grocery store and the hospital were closed in Forks on Sundays. But I needed other days off from time to time, to do things that I couldn't do on Sundays, and to keep my sanity intact. I had once offered Rose a permanent part time position but she declined. She would have had to bring Bree with her all the time. I told her that it was fine with me but it wasn't with her. She didn't want her stuck inside all the time but told me to ask again when Bree started kindergarten.

Dinner was a subdued affair. Dad was a decent cook, not as good as Mom was, but few people were, in my opinion. He was best when he could pull out the grill but that was a rare treat with all the rain that we get around here.

The evening flew by and before I knew it, it was time to head home. I drove Bella's truck for her because the three glasses of wine she drank and all the hard work that we did today had taken its toll, and she was having a hard time staying awake. We agreed that I would drop her off and then drive her truck home. She didn't need it tomorrow and I really didn't want to walk home from Charlie's in the pouring rain.

I pulled into the driveway and we just sat there for a moment. Both of us sat in silence staring at the house. I could almost get myself to believe that Charlie was in there watching a game. I missed him so much. No one else understood the pain and regret that I was living with but him. I closed my eyes and willed myself not to cry. When I opened them again I found that Bella was now watching me instead of the house. She turned to open the truck door, then hesitated and looked back at me as if she was conflicted over what to do. In a split second she threw herself at me and hugged me. At first I was in a little bit of shock as I sat there with her holding me. I hadn't expected her to hug me but it felt so good. As we sat there holding each other tight I felt like I was going to start crying again. I clutched her to me tighter as I felt her take a shaky breath. We remained that way until Bella pulled back. I saw her wiping at her eyes and then she reached into her bag and pulled out some Kleenex. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw myself at you like that."

"Don't worry about it. I think we both needed a hug after the stressful day that we've had."

"Day? More like a stressful week." I nodded in agreement. "So will you come over after work tomorrow and help me clean some more?"

"Yeah," I sighed.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Edward. I can do it myself."

"I want to help you. You shouldn't have to do it all by yourself, Bella. That isn't right."

"I hate this. I hate that he's gone."

"Me, too."

"I'd better get inside," she said as tears started to pool in her eyes again.

"Are you going to be alright tonight?"

"Yeah. I think that I'm going to run a hot bubble bath and read a book and forget where I am and why I'm here tonight."

"That sounds like a good idea. If you need to talk about anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to call me. I'm here for you Bella. Ok?"

"Ok." She jumped out of the car and I watched her run through the rain and into the house before I pulled away.

The second I got into my apartment I grabbed my phone and sent a text message to Tanya asking for a video call in the morning. I needed to see my daughter, and if that was the only way I could get to do it, then that was what I was going to do.

I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked into the bathroom. I stood at the toilet but my mind was on the bathtub as I stared at it and thought of Bella being in hers right now. I wasn't blind. Bella was an extremely beautiful woman. When I was done using the toilet I stripped off my clothes and climbed into the shower.

I stayed in there until the water ran cold. There were just so many things that were running through my mind. Bella was surprisingly the topic that I lingered on longest. I got out and threw on some boxers, too lazy to put on anything else, and flopped down on the sofa with another beer and flipped on a mind numbing movie. I just wanted to stop thinking about anything and everything for once. My life had been an emotional hell for so long. I sighed and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. I deserved something good to happen. I deserved happiness in my life and not the mere existence that I had been living for the last couple of years.

A/N:

Happy Friday! I just wanted to warn you in advance that November is going to be a tough month for updates. I am taking a trip for Thanksgiving and I've also signed up for NaNo. I hope to keep a regular posting schedule but realistically I do see some delays happening.

Thanks to Sweetpea for her awesome betaing skills. I also want to remind you that reviews will get teasers.


	13. Chapter 13

Assumption Chapter 13

Cleansing

BPOV:

It took over two weeks and several arguments with Edward and his family to finish cleaning out Charlie's house. All of it. I had the shock of my life when I hit the attic and the basement. Charlie, it appears, was a closet hoarder. There was everything, and I mean everything, stored in there. Thankfully, I had the Cullen's, who were willing to come over every day to help me out.

One of the big surprises that I found was a trunk that held everything from my parent's wedding, from the dress that Renee wore to his wedding ring to the divorce decree. I knew that he never got over losing Mom, but I didn't realize that he loved her that much that he kept all of this. There were a few letters at the bottom of the trunk that he had written Mom, but never sent, begging her to come back just until things were settled with his parents and then he'd go anywhere she wanted to live. I wondered why he never sent it. What stopped him? I sighed and decided that I could just pile those questions with the ever growing list of questions that I had for him that I was never going to get to ask, nor would I ever get answers to.

That fact had led me to crying in Edward's arms one night. We had been cleaning out some more of the basement when I came across a box that had photocopies of my school report cards and copies of the pictures that Mom would insist we take before she drove me to school. There were more boxes that contained memorabilia of my childhood that I had no idea Mom had sent him. I started pulling things out of the boxes and I was in shock over how much of my life was in there. Even the very short stint I did with the Girl Scouts when I was eight. The tears just started flowing and as I progressed through the boxes I started sobbing uncontrollably. Suddenly, Edward was there behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back to his chest, holding me as tight as he could. I cried until I fell asleep in his arms and then he must have carried me down to my room and put me to bed, because that is where I found myself when I awoke the next morning. It did make me smile when I found a note from him promising me that he'd be over after he closed the shop that afternoon.

Edward and I were developing quite the friendship and were spending time together outside of cleaning out the house. One day I was stuck on a small part of my book; it wasn't as major as the months that I spent unable to work on it, I just had some dialog that wasn't coming out right and I couldn't seem to get it where I was really happy with it. So I decided to call it quits for the day and picked up some takeout Chinese and headed over to Edward's bookstore to surprise him. I ended up spending the rest of the day and evening just hanging out with him. I was beginning to understand that I was going to miss Edward when it was time to go home.

Last night was a shocking horrifying traumatic experience for me. I had been working on the book all day. I was so focused on the book that I barely got up off the couch to get anything to drink, let alone eat. I didn't even bother getting dressed or run a brush through my hair. I didn't even hear Edward knocking on the door, so he scared the daylights out of me when he appeared in the living room in front of me, holding Charlie's mail and laughing at me. Whether he was laughing because I was so tunnel-visioned that I didn't hear him at the door, or my frightful appearance in my ratty pjs with my hair barely still in the ponytail I'd pulled my hair in last night, I didn't know. And I didn't want to ask. I know that I probably should have been embarrassed by the way that I looked but I wasn't because it was Edward. For some strange reason it was impossible to be anything but relaxed around him. I took the mail from him as he flopped down on the couch next to me and asked me what I felt like doing for dinner. We hadn't had dinner apart in over a week. I even went to Sunday dinner at his parents because I was expected to be there, according to Rose. She liked to stop by in the mornings after Emmett left for the station to have a cup of coffee with me and chat.

I started flipping through the mail and noticed that it was mostly junk mail with the exception of the electric bill and cable bill. I started opening the bills while Edward started playing with my tangled mess of hair. The electric bill was pretty much what I had expected it to be after hearing Rose and Emmett complain about theirs one night. I moved on to the cable bill which was higher than I thought it should be.

"I can't believe you guys pay so much for cable. I don't pay this much for mine in Arizona."

"Our cable isn't so bad. But Charlie does have the sports channels package. Maybe that is why it's so high?" Edward suggested as he leaned closer to look over my shoulder. My eyes drifted over the bill and then I flipped it over and what I saw literally made me scream and drop the papers as if they had burned me. Charlie had been renting On Demand movies and not just any movies either. He was renting porn!

Edward started laughing after he picked up the papers off the floor and looked to see what had freak me out, "It's not funny! That's just….something I never, and I mean NEVER needed to know about my father!" I shuddered and jumped off the couch and fled the room. Like if I could get out of there then that didn't just happen. I heard a drawer open and close and then Edward found me standing at the sink, "I've hid it and we can deal with it later, Ok?" He leaned his chin on my shoulder as he wrapped his arms around my waist. For some strange reason it seemed almost natural to be affectionate with each other like this. It was unusual for me but I liked it too much to question it.

But today I was on my own and doing something that I knew needed to be done, and yet every time that I thought about it, I got this strange uneasy feeling. I was so anxious all morning and I couldn't sit still. I needed to get back home to my life and there was absolutely no reason for me to keep the house. I kept repeating that to myself in my head. It was the truth, so why did I feel that it was utter bullshit. I had sat in my truck in front of the office that I needed to be at this morning, unable to force myself to get out and go in. I had sat there until I was ten minutes late for the meeting. I just kept looking down the street to where Edward's shop was and thinking about how quiet and sullen he'd gotten when I told him that I had made this appointment. I was going to miss him too.

Now I was sitting at the realtor's desk with the contracts in front of me, waiting for my signature. We had gone over everything and Mrs. Cope, the realtor, was positive that the house would sell quickly. As I lifted my pen and held it over the paper my mind wandered to Edward. He had become a close friend and was now rather important in my life. I had never expected that. I had never expected his family either. I enjoyed dinners at his parents and coffee with Rose. I loved feeling like I belonged. I loved the quiet that Forks had afforded me.

"I need a minute," I told Mrs. Cope before running out of the office. Once I was out of the building and in the fresh air, I leaned back against the building. I stood there trying to clear all these conflicting thoughts and internal arguments out of my head. They were driving me crazy. I sighed and told myself that I was just being ridiculous and walked back into the building. I sat down at the desk and with another sigh I signed the contracts that listed my dad's home for sale.

EPOV:

She was going to leave me, too. Bella was at the realtor's office right now listing Charlie's house for sale. This was really going to hurt. I had foolishly allowed myself to get close to her, knowing that she was never going to stay. I sighed and grabbed another pile of books off the counter and shoved my chair out of the way, making it slam into the counter. A couple of people in the store looked up at me in surprise, given the noise. It was strange how quiet everyone was being in here today. It was as if they all knew I was one thread from going insane today.

As I put the stray books away I thought about how I had stood at the door of the shop and watched her. She had been sitting in her car for the longest time and I allowed myself the hope that she would just drive away but she eventually got out of the car and went in.

I knew where the real problem lay; I had let myself fall for her. I had known since the moment that I pulled her off Mike Newton that she was beautiful, but as I had started spending more time with her I really got to know her. She had a great sense of humor and was the only person that I had found since my Grandfather died that I could sit down and really talk to about books. Every kind of books. I could sit and discuss Bella's books with Rose because we both read those and Mom like some literature but was finicky. Dad only read science books and journals, and Emmett… I don't think he's read an actual book in years unless it was one of Bree's that he was reading to her. Most importantly, Bella had a great heart and truly cared about everyone in her life. I knew that she was going to live with a lot of regrets regarding her father for the rest of her life.

I didn't tell her how I was feeling about her because I knew from experience that it wouldn't make a difference. Tanya knew that I loved her and left anyway, and Bella was on her way out of town too. No good would come of me telling her, it would only make things awkward between us or take away what little time I had left with her.

I was irritated today and that was not unusual lately. The other day I was angry after an argument that I had gotten into with Bella the night before. It was a stupid argument and I don't know if it was even possible for either of us to be right or wrong on the issue. I just knew that it had blindsided me at dinner the night before when she told me that she wanted me to have Charlie's boat. It's not that it didn't mean a lot to me, given how many times I had gone fishing with Charlie, but taking something like that…drove home the message that he was gone and would never return. Bella was insisting that she had no use for it in Phoenix and felt that Charlie would want me to have it instead of selling it to some stranger. The whole conversation upset me to the point that I cut short our evening and went home. It hadn't helped that she had told me the day before that she was ready to put the house up for sale and go home. It was all getting to be too much, too fast, and I was having a hard time with it all.

Emmett had suggested that I buy Charlie's house while we were walking together one afternoon getting signatures for his election petition. His point was that at least Charlie's home wouldn't go to just anyone or the first person to make the right bid. The idea was intriguing and worth considering. On one hand, I did have the apartment over the store that I loved but it was a small apartment. And buying Charlie's house meant that I would be closer to Emmett, Rose, and Bree, and that would be nice. And like Emmett reminded me, I had wanted to get a big dog for a long time but that wasn't possible while living in an apartment with no yard for the dog to run in, and Charlie's house had a big yard.

I slammed a few more books down before I heard a throat clear behind me. I turned to find Bella standing there. I looked around and noticed that the store was now empty of customers, "I rang them out for you. You were distracted over here and they seemed leery to try to get your attention."

"Thanks. Just having a bad day."

"I see that, but as an author may I ask that you don't take your bad mood out on the books by abusing them. It's giving me chest pains over here every time you slam one down."

I knew that she was serious and trying to be funny and lightening the mood a little, but I didn't think that there was anything that was going to make me feel better today. I just nodded and turned away from her, "So that meeting went fast. I didn't think that you'd be done so quickly since you needed to take the realtor back to the house to take pictures for the listing."

"Yeah, well…she's coming by later today."

"I see. I hope you get a buyer fast so you can get back to your amazing life in the big city. We wouldn't want to force you to stay in Forks one minute longer than absolutely necessary."

_ "Edward!"_

"Excuse me. I'm not feeling well, I think I'm going to go ahead a close up and go lie down."

"Edward."

"Please Bella, just go."

"Ok." She looked so heartbroken as she walked out of the door, but that was just making me angrier. She was the one deciding to leave. I walked upstairs and crawled into my bed without even getting undressed. If she really wanted to she could stay here with me. It was obvious now that she just didn't want to.

A/N:

Happy Friday. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta. I did make some changes after she sent this back so any screw ups are my fault. Thank you to all my reviewers, I love getting and reading every single one. Remember that reviews get teasers.


	14. Chapter 14

Assumptions Chapter 14

Hiding

EPOV:

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Emmett snapped at me. And it wasn't the first time in the last week that he'd confronted me about my so-called attitude. He stopped by on his way home from work tonight to make sure that I was coming to dinner at Mom and Dad's tomorrow. Not likely. Bella was leaving the morning after that and I wasn't in the mood to be there and endure a party for her. "And why haven't you put in an offer for the house? I thought you were going to?"

"I changed my mind. Too many memories that I don't want to relive every day for the rest of my life."

"Don't think that I don't know what is really bugging you, man. I'm your brother; I know how you really feel about her and why you've been acting like an ass to her."

"Leave it alone, Emmett."

"No! You really like her and you're mad and hurt that she's going back to Arizona. But did you ever think that maybe she really doesn't want to go but doesn't _know_ that she has something here to stay for?"

That was bullshit. Maybe I hadn't told Bella that I thought she was beautiful or that I wanted her to stay so that I could take her out on a date. But I would think that the friendship that we had would have been enough of a reason for her to stay. What did she have to go back to? An ex-boyfriend that cheated on her and was now married to the woman he'd left her for? Maybe she could babysit for them so they could have date nights.

I turned and walked out of the room, ignoring my brother. I climbed in the shower and lingered in there, hoping that my brother would get the hint and be gone by the time I got out. I knew that I was being a complete asshole to her and to everyone that had the misfortune of having to come near me. It had been two weeks since Bella listed the house for sale and the only time that I had been around her since was at my parent's house for Sunday dinner. I had been avoiding having any contact with her outside those dinners. She gave up on calling me after a few days of unreturned calls, I just didn't see the need to get more attached to her when she was going to leave and never think of us again, let alone contact us. She was going to go back to Arizona and forget that I existed.

I was really disappointed when I returned to the living room and not only was Emmett still there but he had helped himself to a beer and was watching some horror flick. I grabbed the remote from him. "Hey! Rose won't let me watch them at home anymore unless we're positive Bree is asleep and not going to wander in and see it," he grumbled as I changed the channel.

We sat in silence after I turned on a cooking show because I knew that it would piss him off. "She had someone express interest in the house and she might let it go to them if they make an offer."

That news made my heart stop for a second. I didn't want to know who. I didn't need to know who and I wasn't going to ask. It wasn't any of my business.

"Fine, you're going to be the same stubborn ass you've always been when you don't get your way. But I don't care; I'm going to tell you anyway. It's Lauren and Tyler."

"Oh fuck no. NO! NO! NO!" I stomped out of the room and started banging and slamming things around in the kitchen. "They can't have Charlie's house. That woman will paint every room hot pink. It's the only color that pea-brained idiot wears. Head to toe."

"I know, she always looks like a wad of chewed up bubble gum! But I thought you were pretending that you didn't care. I guess you really do care and are just too much of a stupid pigheaded ass to do anything about it."

"Go home Emmett. I just want to be alone."

"Fine. I'll go because my wife has a hot dinner waiting for me. But let me just say this before I leave…..get your head out of your ass and fix this thing between you and Bella or you WILL lose her forever. She has no reason not to sell to Lauren and Tyler and once she does she really is gone. Forever. And with the way you've treated her she doesn't have any reason to come back. But I've talked to her and I know, Edward _I KNOW_, that if you told her how you feel she'd stay.

"Go home to your wife and daughter and concentrate on your election and your future." At last he had a wife and a happy home. I was destined to spend the rest of my life alone.

"Speaking of, that is another reason that you have to come to dinner tomorrow. We are going to do some planning for the campaign. All the guys from the station and the fire house donated to my campaign so we need to get to work. Besides, Mom said to tell you that you are to be here and that's a 'direct order'." He was going up against one other guy for Charlie's job. Eric Yorkie. He was a bit older than us but we knew him well. He was a jackass but he had a lot of friends. He had worked for Charlie for a while but quit to join the police force in Port Angeles, "more action" he'd told people. He still lived in Forks so he was eligible to make a run for the job. Still, there was no way that he'd beat Emmett. Emmett had been Charlie's head deputy for over a year and was just as popular in town. People still remembered my brother as a star football player in high school.

Damn it. There was no I could skip it now. When Mom says 'direct order' it really means that if I don't then she'll show up here and lecture me about how rude I've been lately. She only pulls this card for certain people or occasions. The last time was when she threw a cocktail party for the Chief of Staff for Fork's hospital. Dad had decided that he wanted to be chief of his department to be in a position to update the department in the areas of talent and technology, and make it one of the leading Emergency Trauma Centers in the area. At the time, all major traumas were airlifted to Port Angeles. He wanted to be able to treat them here. And with Dr. Snow retiring the position was up for grabs. Tanya had just left me and I wasn't really feeling like going to a party but mom pulled the "direct order" card, saying that it would look bad if one of their sons didn't show. Besides, she said, it might be good for me to come and forget my troubles for one night and try to have a little fun.

I grabbed a beer and flipped through the channels until I found a Tom Cruise movie on where he was hanging from the side of a glass skyscraper. Normally I'd be rooting for him to lose his grip and fall to his death, but even that couldn't keep my interest on the TV tonight. I stood up and wandered to the window and looked out. Down on the sidewalk stood Bella. Well, more like she was pacing back and forth in front of the door that led straight up to my apartment. I turned and ran down the stairs but by the time I got there she was gone. I wondered what she had wanted and why she was there. Could Emmett be right and all I had to do was tell her what I felt? But what if I did and it didn't change anything? What if I told her and she left anyway? I didn't know if I could handle that kind of direct rejection again.

BPOV:

I could claim that I didn't understand why Edward had been treating me like I didn't exist, but I knew why he was behaving this way. It hurt me a lot. I moved through the house after mopping the kitchen and made my way to the bathroom. I was going home soon and I wanted the house to be perfect before I left. So far I'd had a one couple come see the house and they were interested, but I really detested the couple. The wife looked like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol threw up all over her. I had never seen anyone wear hot pink from head to toe before. I snapped a picture of her with my Ipod when she wasn't looking and sent it to Vicky. We laughed at the woman's horrifying sense of what she must have considered fashion for over an hour. Mrs. Cope had scheduled an open house for next weekend, after I was gone. And I was glad that I wouldn't be there for it. I was starting to get these little anxiety attacks every time that I thought about the idea that someone that didn't know and love Charlie was going to buy it and live here. I didn't want anyone messing with his home and screwing it up.

We also talked about me returning to Arizona, but the more I thought of it the more I felt like it wasn't where I was supposed to be anymore. I was thinking about selling my apartment and starting over somewhere new. Maybe New York or Los Angeles, or maybe just some small unknown cow town that no one had ever heard of before. I was really going to miss the peace and quiet that a town like Forks excelled at.

I loved that there was the sense that everyone knew everyone in a town like this. I was walking down Main Street the other day, doing some shopping, and several people said hello to me, calling me by name, even a group of boys that rode past on their bikes. I smiled at the memory. I don't remember ever feeling that contented or at peace in my life. I had briefly considered staying here, but now, I didn't think that I was welcome or wanted here, at least by Edward. And I wanted Edward to want me to stay. I didn't realize that until I'd lost him.

Esme and Rose kept crying over the idea that I was leaving, saying that they were going to miss me but they understood that I had a life to get back to. I was going to miss them too. A lot. Rose was still coming over every morning with Bree. I was really going to miss Bree. She was an amazing little girl, funny, sweet, and smart. Esme was having a going home dinner for me tomorrow night and I was nervous at the idea of going. I was afraid of running into Edward. As soon as I listed the house he dropped out of my life completely. It broke my heart because I thought that we'd at least continue to be friends. I'd had visions of coming back and visiting Edward and his whole family, maybe even scheduling book signings at his store when my new books came out. But he cut me out of his life like I meant nothing to him.

I was restless and couldn't sit still so I decided to go for a walk. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going but wasn't surprised when I ended up in front of Edward's store. I saw Emmett pulling away from the curb, probably on his way home as I walked around the corner. There was a bench on the curb just outside his store. I sat there thinking about every day and every evening that Edward and I had spent together. The fun and laughs we'd had. The tears that we'd both shed over Charlie.

I stood up and started pacing around the sidewalk. I wanted to knock on his door and demand that he tell my why he was acting like I didn't exist. I wanted to demand to know if I'd be welcome here if I decided to stay. Emmett had asked me to stay, he all but begged me to stay in Forks, that everyone, including Edward, wanted me to stay. But he was the wrong Cullen brother to ask me that. I wanted Edward to want me to stay. I wanted Edward to want me enough to ask me to stay.

I was shocked at myself when I realized that. It should have been obvious from that dream that I'd had about him. I'd never had a sex dream about Jamie before and he was the only man that I'd ever been with. The only man that I had ever wanted to be with. But that dream had stuck with me big time. I couldn't stop thinking about it, or him, or recalling every moment of it in my head. I was very attracted to him. He was a great guy, when he wasn't acting like an asshole.

I had just about gotten up the courage to knock but chickened out at the last minute. What if Emmett was wrong and Edward really didn't want me to stay here. He really got pissed off when I insisted that he take Charlie's boat. I thought that he'd like that and appreciate the gesture but I was completely wrong. I did have a similar argument with Emmett over Charlie's large flat screen TV. I panicked and turned and ran off back home, thankful that he didn't know that I had been there at all. Thankful that he didn't know how pathetic I was.

I made it home in record time and threw myself on the couch. I only got up to get one of the bottles of wine that I had left in the fridge and drank it straight from the bottle. I was full out bawling by the time I got up to get the second bottle a half hour later. I started to down that bottle too, then everything started to get really fuzzy and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I must have fallen asleep at one point because I opened my eyes to see Edward sitting on the coffee table just watching me, and there was no way that he could actually be here. I decided that I must have been dreaming about him again.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! I wanted to remind you that I am doing NaNo and with the fact that I need to write the next updates for On Our Own I won't post for this story for two weeks. I just can't do it with my sons schedule too. I'm sorry. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for betaing this for me. Welcome to all the new people that are reading, reviewing, and putting this story on alert. Every one of you are important to me and I smile every time I see a review or alert. Reviews will get teasers.


	15. Chapter 15

Assumptions Chapter 15

Please…

EPOV:

I stood in the doorway that led up to my apartment, staring off into the darkness. She was gone. She'd been standing right here and something made her run off. I stepped out of the doorway and sat on the bench in front of my store. I sat here often when I wanted some fresh air to clear my head. My mind kept replaying everything that Emmett had been saying to me over the last few days about Bella leaving. He was right. I had to decide if keeping my pride was worth watching her walk away without hearing a clue about how I felt about her.

I have no idea how long I sat there lost in my thoughts before I made my decision. I was up and running for Charlie's before I even realized what I was doing. I stood outside the house for the longest time trying to convince myself to knock on the door. I turned and sat down on the top step to the porch. My heart was pounding in my ears and I didn't think it had anything to do with running all the way here. From where I was sitting I could see the For Sale sign clearly. I struggled to maintain every ounce of self-control that I had left not to go over there and kick the stupid thing down and set it on fire.

I knocked a couple of times without her answering. I turned to leave, and then paused. I had already chased her this far, I might as well become a full fledged stalker. I went into the house and silently made my way to the couch where I knew that she'd be sleeping. I was surprised to see an empty bottle of wine on the floor in front of her. She was holding a second empty bottle tightly to her chest. It reminded me of the way that Bree clutched onto her teddy bear when she slept.

I sat down on the coffee table and watched Bella sleep. It wasn't a peaceful sleep. Her face was scrunched up and she was moaning and whimpering. She was upset and I knew that I was part of the cause of it. After the way I had been treating her, how could I not be? I was tempted to brush her hair out of her face, mainly just so that I could touch her. I held myself back, knowing that I would end up waking her, and I was still a major chicken shit when I thought about asking her to stay. I don't think my heart would ever recover if it didn't make a difference to her and she left anyway.

I stood up and started to walk around. It broke my heart to see that everything was packed and ready to go. Everything was in boxes down to the plates and glasses. The cabinets were so bare it was depressing. I leaned back against the wall and slunk down to the ground. I buried my head in my arms and tried to force myself not to cry. It didn't work.

I don't know how long I sat there before I heard Bella mumbling and I returned to my spot in front of her on the coffee table. I knocked over the empty wine bottle that was on the floor and it made a loud clunking noise as it hit the bottom of the coffee table. Bella's eyes fluttered open and she looked at me for a moment before closing them again.

This time I did reach out and push the hair out of her face, which startled her and made her jump up to a sitting position. We sat there in silence watching each other and waiting. I don't know exactly what was going through her head but I was positive she was going to tell me to get the hell out of her house. I'd deserve that after the way that I had behaved. She closed her eyes again and I saw her swaying a little bit. Then she laid back down without opening her eyes again.

"Bella? How much of this wine did you drink tonight?" I asked her after I really started comprehending that there were two empty bottles by the couch. She just shrugged and curled herself into a ball. I moved to kneel before her and put my hand back on her face and attempted to get her attention again. "Bella, wake up."

"No. I'm tired and you're an asshole."

I sighed and had no choice but to agree with her on that, "Yes. I am."

She stretched out again and rolled over so that her back was to me, "Why….you…hmph?" She said into the back cushion of the couch.

I took the chance on reaching out to her again, "What was that?" I pulled her back until she was lying on her back.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." That got her attention.

She sat up again, this time with a fire in her eyes. "You wanted to talk to me? You wanted to fucking talk to me? NOW? You ignored me all this time and treated me like I was nothing and now you want to talk to me? It's the middle of the night! How did you get in here anyway? I should call your brother and have him come over and arrest you!" She stood up and walked away from me. I thought that she was going to leave the room but she just went to stand against the wall by the fireplace. She wrapped her arms around herself like she was trying to hold herself together.

"I know you're angry with me and you have every right to be, but—"

"Damn straight I have a right to be angry! I didn't deserve to be treated like that and I won't put up with being treated like that."

"You're right. You didn't deserve to be treated so badly and I'm sorry."

"You're sorry. I thought we were friends. I guess you don't feel the same way about me."

"I do feel the same Bella, I swear that I do. In the short time that I've known you, you've managed to become one of my best friends and such an important part of my life." She snorted and rolled her eyes. I stood up and walked over to her and stood directly in front of her so that I could look her directly in the eyes, "I was scared and hurt and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. It was wrong. I was wrong."

BPOV:

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My head was still a little fuzzy from the wine and just waking up. I was also still contemplating the possibility that I was still sleeping and dreaming that he was here. With as much wine as I had downed it was a good possibility that I was still actually passed out on the couch.

"Bella please," he reached out and touched me again and I swear that it felt like he was here and touched me.

"Are you actually here or am I dreaming again. If I'm dreaming, than this is the strangest dream I've had with you in it so far because my dreams about you always include us having sex. Lots of sex." I moved around him and started to make my way back to the couch. I was getting dizzy and I wanted to sit down. I grabbed the bottles of wine off the floor and realized that they were empty. "Damn. What happened to all the wine? Did you drink my wine?" I accused him.

"No, I didn't. It was gone when I got here. How about I go make you a cup of hot coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee sounds good, go ahead. You know where the kitchen is." I laid back down and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again Edward was sitting in the chair watching TV with the volume turned down. I must have fallen asleep and been out for a while because the sun was now up. "Are you really here?"

"Yes. Are you really awake now?"

"I'm talking to you, aren't I."

"You've been talking to me for the majority of the morning. We had an interesting conversation about evil shoes. You really hate wearing heels, don't you?"

"Oh, God!" I covered my face with my hands. I'd been told that I tend to talk and hold conversations in my sleep when I drink. There is no telling what could come out of my mouth. "What else did I say?"

"Nothing much…really." He was looking down at the ground at not at me which told me that he was straight out lying to me.

"HA! I don't buy that for a second."

He started rubbing the back of his neck which I knew was a nervous tick of his, "Uh…how about that coffee I promised you earlier." He blurted out as he tried to make a quick escape to the kitchen.

"When did you promise me coffee? And I don't have any left here. Rose is going to bring some when she comes over later this morning." I followed him into the kitchen. I had no idea why he was here. Not after the way he had cut me out of his life.

I sat down at the kitchen table and waited for him to answer my question. "I went over there as soon as I knew that she would be awake and borrowed some. Do you remember anything of our conversation earlier this morning?"

I struggled to try to recall anything but I only had vague impressions and brief snippets of things he'd said to me. "It's a bit fuzzy but a little, I guess," I sat down at the table. "I want the truth, Edward. Why are you here right now? And what did I do to make you suddenly hate me?"

"Bella, I'm sorry I hurt you like that. I…let myself get attached you. I don't want to lose you."

"That doesn't even make sense. You were afraid of losing me so you pushed me out of your life?"

"I know. I can be irrational and pigheaded sometimes…ok…a lot of the time. Just ask anyone in my family."

"Yeah, they all mentioned that to me already. You still haven't told me why you showed up here. Why now?"

"I…uh…I came to beg you not to leave."

"What?" I closed my eyes and tried to get a grip on my emotions and quell the hope that was rising in me.

"Please don't go back to Phoenix, Bella. Please! Keep the house and stay here in Forks with me."

"With you?"

He moved to me and knelt in front of me, "Yes, I don't want you to leave me."

I remembered something that he said before that I didn't understand, "Earlier this morning you said that you were scared. I don't understand, what are you scared of?"

"Bella, I loved Tanya for most of my life and she up and walked away with my daughter, even after I begged her to stay. I am so scared of... I don't think that you understand how much power you have in your answer to my pleas to stay. You have the power in that one answer to completely destroy me."

"Oh, no pressure there though. Right?"

He hung his head and closed his eyes, "You don't want to stay."

"I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth."

"Look. It's just that I know that Forks can't even come close to comparing to Phoenix."

"Actually, I've been thinking that Phoenix doesn't come close to comparing to Forks. At least, not for me. Not anymore."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'd already decided not to stay in Phoenix. I decided that I was going to go back and sell my condo and move on. I have nothing keeping me there anymore."

"Where were you planning to live then?"

"I hadn't quite decided. I've actually come to love being here but I didn't want to stay here if I wasn't wanted."

He reached up and pulled me off the chair and down into his lap and wrapped his arms around me, "You're wanted here, Bella. You're really, really wanted here. Please believe me on that. And not just by me. My whole family is crazy about you and they want you to stay, too. Please stay."

"I'll have to call Mrs. Cope then." He pulled back a little to look me in the eyes, "I have to tell her that the house is no longer for sale."

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Have you guys seen BD2 yet? I'm seeing it tomorrow afternoon. I've being avoiding twitter to keep from getting spoiled. You guys have been so great about the delay in updating that I just wanted to thank you. You guys are the best. Also, thank you to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta and friend. There were more new 'faces' in the reviews this time. I love hearing from everyone. If I haven't replied to a review I will get to it. It just may take some time. I am leaving for vacation on Tuesday right after work. That means that the next update of this story won't be until December 1st. Finally, reviews will get a teaser. Have a great Thanksgiving if you are American and celebrate it.


	16. Chapter 16

Assumptions Chapter 16

Communicating in Secret Places

EPOV:

I handed Bella the phone and then wandered through the kitchen looking for food while she called Mrs. Cope. I insisted that she call her right away and cancel the listing. She told me that she would still need to return to Phoenix tomorrow. She had to pack her apartment and place that up for sale. I didn't want to see her go, even for a short time, but I knew that she had to. Besides, the sooner she went and took care of everything the sooner she would be able to come back to me.

There was absolutely no food in the house and I was starving. As soon as she was off the phone I told her to go change so we could go get something at the diner. As soon as she was dressed we drove to my place real quick so that I could put on some actual clothes. I hadn't realized that I had run all the way over here in my pajamas until she pointed it out to me. If I was lucky then no one had seen me last night. I ran upstairs to my apartment to get dressed while she walked down the street to the diner to get us a table.

While I was getting dressed I decided that I wanted to show her my meadow. I wanted her to spend the day with me there. I was so glad that today was Sunday and the store was closed all day. I got so excited at the prospect of spending the whole day with Bella that I nearly forgot to lock the door as I ran out of my apartment. I got down the stairs and realized that I forgot my wallet so I had to go back up after that. By the time that I made it to the diner Bella was enjoying a cup of coffee and Mike and Angela were sitting with her.

I slipped into the booth next to Bella and poured myself a cup of coffee, "How have you been feeling, Ang?"

"Fat. Good, but fat."

"You're not fat, you're beautiful," Mike told her, looking her straight in the eye. He could be a really great guy when he wanted to be. I started to feel guilty for not spending time with them lately. I had gotten so wrapped up in Bella and all the drama surrounding Charlie's death that I had neglected my friends.

I looked over to Bella who was looking over the menu. I was here so often that I knew the menu by heart. I knew what was good and what you should avoid at all costs. The waitress came over and the four of us placed our orders and I turned my attention back to my friends, "So what has been going on with you two? You get the nursery done yet?"

"Not yet but I'm close to being done with it," Mike said with a sigh.

"You've been really busy. Mom and Dad said that they'd help."

"I want to do it," he said to her before turning back to me, "I got a job, kind of. My parents took me back at the wilderness store."

"But they said they wouldn't do that unless you started….going….to….Oh my God! You're back in AA?"

"Yeah, it's still new but I'm really trying. I haven't had a drink since the night that I hit Bella. I just keep thinking that I could have killed her. She's someone's daughter. Someone's friend. Maybe girlfriend, I don't really know about that, but I just keep thinking that if I had killed her I'd be no better than Jacob Black. I'd have been a murderer. I just keep thinking about Angela. I love her and I don't want to hurt her anymore. I'm also in therapy. Angela keeps telling me that I have to start believing that Jessica's death is not my fault. I have to let go of the guilt."

Angela was right. We'd all told Mike that for years. I got why he felt guilty but I was never able to understand why he couldn't let go of it after so many years. I was thrilled that he was finally trying to put it all behind them. It had been too many years of holding onto the pain.

After we finished our food, I grabbed the bill and took off for the register before any of them could stop me. We said our goodbyes to Angela and Mike as they headed off toward their home. I grabbed Bella's hand and led her back toward my place where her truck was parked.

"Do you trust me?"

"Uh…maybe?"

"Maybe?" I asked, backing her into the side of the truck.

"Yeah, maybe. You have to prove that I can trust you."

"Ok. Fair enough. Do you trust me enough to get into that truck with me and let me take you somewhere with telling you where I am taking you?"

"Oh sure, I trust you enough for that. I trust you not to kill me or anything, I just don't trust you with my wine. I'm still convinced you drank it all while I was sleeping."

I started laughing as I held her door open for her and then walked around to get into the driver's seat. It didn't take long to drive to where the trail to the meadow started. It was actually navigating the trail that was going to take some time.

We chatted idly as I drove to the highway. It was a fifteen minute drive from there to where I would pull off the road and park in what was no more than a clearing in the woods. Bella didn't look nervous at all until I turned off the engine and started to get out of the truck, and then she looked absolutely terrified. I couldn't help but smile at the expression on her face, "Relax! Like you said, it's not like I'm a serial killer or anything."

"Yeah, well I'd rather face a serial killer than hike through the jungle. I'm likely to suffer less pain before I die with the serial killer." Now she had me outright laughing at her.

"I promise to keep you safe and from feeling any pain whatsoever. You are going to love where we are going. I promise you that too."

"I'm holding you to that."

BPOV:

I had to admit that he was right. This meadow was beautiful. "How did you find this place?"

"I've always loved the outdoors and exploring and I stumbled upon it one day."

"Well, it's amazing. Do you come here a lot?"

"When I need to be alone or just need some peace."

"So you don't bring your family here often?"

"They don't know about this place. They know I disappear into the woods but I've never wanted to share this place with them."

"Wow. I'm honored then." I walked away from him and started exploring the meadow. I followed the sound of the running water and found a creek. "Do you ever bring your suit and go swimming in there?" I asked as he walked up behind me.

"I swim in there all the time, but I never bring my suit. I figure there's no one that going to be around here to catch me swimming naked." I felt my cheeks heat up and knew that I was blushing. I was suddenly thinking about the dreams that I had been having about Edward and really wanting to act them out. Luckily, I was able to come to my senses before I did something embarrassing, like jumping Edward and tackling him to the ground. Believe me, I was really, really tempted to do just that. Or strip naked myself and jump into the creek.

I forced myself to walk away from the creek and out to the clearing. I went to the dead center and laid down. The flowers were so tall that I knew that I had disappeared from Edward's view. That was totally cool.

Edward had to call out to me to find out where I was, and then came to lie down next to me. He reached out and grabbed my hand. We spent the rest of our afternoon talking. I mean really and truly talking. We set plans to go out on a date as soon as I was back from Phoenix. I was both looking forward to that and petrified at the same time. Jamie was the only guy that I had ever been on a date with.

We stayed there, lying in the grass for as long as we could. Eventually we had to force ourselves to leave if we were going to make it to his parents' house in time for dinner. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave this beautiful meadow; there was a part of me that was afraid that I would never get the chance to see it again. Before we left, though, Edward made sure that he got a picture of my lying among the flowers with his phone.

We were quiet on the ride back to my place. Edward flipped through the radio stations until he found an oldies station that made him happy. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm breeze that was flowing in through the window. Quicker than it seemed possible, we were pulling into Charlie's driveway. _My_ driveway. There was a small part of me that was still in shock that I had actually decided to move to Forks.

Edward walked me to the door and kissed me on the cheek before walking back to the truck. He was taking it to run back to his place to clean up and change for dinner. I walked into the house and went to the living room to clean up a little. I picked up the two empty wine bottles and turned to take them to the kitchen to throw them away when I saw my phone sticking out from under the couch. I hadn't even realized that I didn't have it with me today. I flipped it open and saw that I had several missed calls and texts from Mom, Jamie, and Vicky. I sent them a group text that I was fine and had been out all day.

I would be back in Phoenix in a couple of days, and I would tell Jamie and Vicky then. It's just not something that I really wanted to get into over the phone, at least not tonight. I hadn't brought a lot of clothes up with me and the only dressy thing was the black dress that I wore to the funeral. There was no way that I was wearing that to dinner, I was going to have to settle for a little sundress. I had just finished battling with all the knots in my hair when there was a knock on the door. I was surprised that Edward had made it back so quickly.

I ran down the stairs and flung the door open, only to be surprised by the person that was actually standing there, "Rose! Everything ok?" I asked, stepping back to let her in.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted to ride with us."

"Uh…thanks but Edward is going to come back for me."

"Really? So he really did get his head out of his ass and talk to you?"

I nodded, "We spent the day together." Rose perked up at that but thankfully, just as she opened her mouth to say something else, Emmett yelled from across the street that he couldn't find the pants she'd said she had laid out for him. I looked around Rose and unfortunately got a full view of Emmett standing on the porch in nothing but a t-shirt and his boxers. Rose buried her face in her hands and ran back to her house before anyone else could see Emmett. I was still standing there laughing when a truck, that was not mine, pulled into the driveway. Out of it climbed a Native American and a woman. I stood on the porch, a little scared after the warning that I was given about Billy. I wished that I had my cell phone on me but it was still where I had dropped it on the couch after sending that text message earlier.

They walked up to me and the man reached his hand out to me, "Hi, Ms. Swan, I'm Sam Uley, and this is my wife Emily. We don't want to take up too much of your time, but we've been out of town, on our honeymoon, actually. We just got back and heard about Charlie. We just wanted to stop by and tell you that we're sorry about your loss, and if you need anything just let us know. Charlie was always a great guy. I'm the chief of the reservation police so I've worked with Charlie on a lot of cases over the years." I shook the guy's hand and turned to the woman who reached out and grabbed me into a hug. "We don't want you to think that everyone from the Rez is bad." They seemed genuine, perhaps even the type of people that I could be friends with when I returned for good. I would have to think about that though. They were pulling out of the drive when Edward finally returned.

The second I walked into the Cullen's home Esme pounced on me, for a minute I was afraid that she was never going to let me go. Edward smiled as he kissed her on the cheek and walked off to find his brother, leaving me to figure out how to get loose from Esme on my own.

After a few seconds Carlisle came up to us, "Esme dear, let the poor girl go. Besides, Rose is playing with your new blender." That got her to let go of me as she ran off for her kitchen. I followed Carlisle out to the back porch where Bree came running at me the second she saw me. It suddenly hit me that there was no way that I ever would have been able to leave this family behind. Whether or not Edward wanted me to stay didn't really matter. I wanted me to stay. That was important for me to know and understand. I was never the type to make major life decisions to please others and I wasn't going to start now.

It wasn't long before Rose came out with a pitcher of daiquiris for us and beers for the guys. Esme and Carlisle followed her out with the food. As soon everyone was seated with their drink and supper I stood up, "I have something to say. After a lot of thought and discussion, I've made a decision. Tomorrow when I leave to return to Phoenix, it won't be for the reason that I originally planned. I'm going to pack my condo and put it up for sale. I'll be back home, here home, just as soon as I can manage it." I looked around the table, Edward and Emmett were smiling and the rest of them looked to be in shock. I smiled and waited for my announcement to really set in and once it did there was no way that any of them were going to be able to extricate me from Esme's grip until she was good and ready to let me go.

A/N:

I'm back from NaNo and my vacation and should be back to weekly updates. A big thank you to Sweetpea123 for being an amazing beta and friend. Reviews will get teasers and thank you for your patience this last month.

Now I have a question for all of you, how upset would you guys be if I wrote a story that was Edward/Leah. I have the very beginnings of a plot bunny running through my head. All I know at this point is at some point Edward will be with Leah. I'm still figuring it out; I just want to know if my amazing readers would be upset if I went there. Let me know in a review or pm.


	17. Chapter 17

Assumption Chapter 17

Explanations

BPOV:

"What do you mean you're moving to Forks? What the hell are you thinking, Isabella!" Vickie sighed from her place on the couch. Jamie hadn't been happy with my decision either, he was afraid that I was being rash and impulsive. I was tempted to just tell him that it was none of his business anymore, but I knew that he was just concerned with my safety, and neither Vickie nor I could fault him for that. Then he and I took a walk to a coffee house nearby and I told him everything that I hadn't told him on the phone about what happened in Forks. We spent hours sitting there talking and in the end he decided to support my decision, as all he ever wanted was for me to be happy. My mother, on the other hand, wasn't taking my decision to move to Washington well at all. "You have completely lost your mind! You never mentioned any inclination of moving to Washington when I left there. That's just it. I should never have left you there. You can't go live in the wilderness all alone. It isn't safe!"

I rolled my eyes, "Mom, I'm not moving to the wilderness and I won't be alone. I'll have the Cullens."

"That's it, isn't it! You're moving to be close to that bookstore guy, aren't you? I thought I taught you better than to change your life for some man. What is he giving up for you? Nothing, right? You have to make all the sacrifices? Why can't he move to Arizona or Florida for you?"

"Because he OWNS a business, mom, and it's much easier for me to relocate. I can write anywhere. And I'm not moving just for him. I won't deny that he is part of it, mom, but I can move easier than he can. But a lot of it is the town. I haven't felt that at peace in so long. I feel like I just need to be there. I wish that I had gone back there a long time ago."

"Moving there won't bring your father back, Bella. If that is what you're trying to do…" I collapsed onto the couch and Vickie wrapped her arms around me and I tuned my mother out.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Phil?"

"Did you make this decision on the spur of the moment or did you consider it for a while?"

"I thought about it for a long time before I made the final decision to move to Forks. I had already decided that I didn't want to stay in Arizona anymore, and I was actually considering a lot of other places, too."

"Then, that is that. You've never been one to make big decisions while in an emotional state. I agree with you, I wish that you had returned before Charlie died and had given yourselves a chance to repair that relationship. But that is water under the bridge. Just be happy, sweetie. No matter what it takes or where it takes you."

"Thank you, Phil. I do too. I hate that I was so wrong for so long. I wish I had listened to all of you." Phil disconnected the call right after that, saying that he'd calm my mother down before he let her near the phone again. I laughed, knowing that he'd hide every phone in the house if he had to. He'd done that before when she was upset and on a tangent. But if anyone could get through to her right now, it was Phil.

Vickie sat with me every day while I was packing and Jamie was at work. I discovered that there were still a lot of things that belonged to Jamie at my place. It felt like it was taking forever to sort through the apartment, even though it was only a matter of a few days. I wanted to get everything packed and squared away before I found a realtor to list the apartment.

I was glad that I actually knew what I had in Charlie's house so that I didn't need to drag a bunch garbage with me that I was only going to end up giving away or trashing once I got up there. I gave a lot of stuff to Jamie and Vickie and even more to the Goodwill. I was also taking my bed. I had every intention of acting out those dreams I'd had of Edward and I. That wouldn't be possible on the twin that was in my room, and there was no way that I would ever be comfortable having sex in my father's bed. No. Just no. I still shuddered at the mere thought of that. Most of the rest of my furniture was being given away once the condo sold so mostly what I was taking with me was my clothes, videos, and other personal effects.

On the third day that I was back in Arizona, I got a call from my friend Heidi wanting to get together. "Come on, Bella. We haven't heard from you in weeks!" I agreed to go, mainly to tell them that I was moving away, but I didn't think that it would faze them much. If they had missed me in the few weeks that I had been in Washington, then why didn't any of them bother to call me? Don't get me wrong, they were my friends and we cared about each other, but I was already closer to Rose and Esme than I was to them.

I arrived at the restaurant they wanted to meet at and found them already halfway through a pitcher of margaritas. I walked over to the table, sat down, and poured myself one without saying a word. It only took a few seconds to notice that Gianna was only drinking water. I looked over at her and she smiled and nodded. I was going to have to get her alone tonight and talk to her about that. She'd had several miscarriages since she'd married Demitri. If she was pregnant then Edward and I were going to have to make more trips down here than I originally thought we would.

"Come on, Bella! You have to catch up! We're already on our second pitcher and Gi can't drink because she says that she's on some stupid medication." I looked at Gi again and noticed that she was trying to stifle a laugh. I downed my drink and poured myself another one.

"So, where have you been lately, Bella? Holed up writing again?" Gi asked me, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Yes and no. My father was killed on duty. I had to go to Washington and take care of the funeral and stuff."

Heidi and Jane, who were both more than plastered, threw themselves at me in an attempt to comfort me. But they were so out of it that they used a little too much force and ended up tackling me right out of my chair. I couldn't help but start laughing.

Once we were righted again they asked if I got everything settled in Washington or if I had to go back for anything. "Well, uh, I am going back soon."

"Did your dad have a house you have to sell or something, because that can take forever in this market," Jane commented.

"He, uh, did have a house but I am not selling it."

"Why not?" Heidi asked me, with her eyes narrowed. I think that she was onto me but was demanding direct confirmation.

"Because I am selling my apartment here and moving to Washington," I blurted out really fast. All three of my friends just sat there staring at me like I had grown a second head.

"What the hell is in Forks, Washington that is worth moving there?"

"Me." My head shot up and I was in absolute shock that he was actually here standing in front of me that I just couldn't stop myself from leaping from the table and throwing myself at the poor man.

EPOV:

Today was only the third day that Bella has been gone and I was already going crazy. We had talked on the phone several times a day. Rose started teasing me that the more I bugged Bella the longer it was going to take her to finish packing and come back. I knew that she was right, but it didn't mean that I liked it. But I tried to be good and switched to texting her.

Not even my work was keeping me preoccupied. Business had been slow as hell. I hadn't had a customer yet today. I sat down behind the counter and laid my head down.

"It's a good thing that you got your head out of your ass before she left. If you're this miserable after only a few days, knowing she'll be back, you'd be absolutely pathetic if she had left for good."

I sat up and found Rose standing in front of me, "So I miss her. You can't tell me that you wouldn't miss Emmett if he had to go away for an extended period of time."

"Maybe. But then again I'd get rid of half of the noise and tantrums around the house. Unless he took Bree with him….maybe I'll suggest he take her camping for a few days. I'd love to have that kind of peace and quiet…"

"Did you come here for an actual reason or are you just here to annoy me?"

"You should be nicer to me Edward, I am about to make your day."

"How? Do you have Bella tucked away in that humongous monstrosity you call a purse?"

She reached over the counter and smacked me upside the head, "It's a Vera Bradley."

"According to Emmett ,it is too expensive and there are more important things to spend money on."

"Like season tickets to the Mariners? Because he didn't have a problem dropping a shitload of money on that."

"Yeah, I remember you being pissed about that."

"Those tickets cost a hell of a lot more than my bag did with all of the accessories. Speaking of tickets, that is why I'm here." She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "We may not be able to bring Bella to you, but Emmett and I went in with your parents to get you a plane ticket to Arizona."

"What?"

"I talked to Bella yesterday and she's almost as miserable as you are and we thought it would be nice for her to have a little company on the drive back North. Now go pack! Carlisle will be here soon to drive you to the Port Angeles airport."

"But what about the store?"

"Duh! That is why I am here. Esme and I will take care of everything while you're gone. Now GO!"

She didn't have to tell me again. I ran up the stairs and started throwing random clothes into a bag. I was done in a matter of minutes and was headed back downstairs to wait for Dad to get here.

"I don't have her address there. How am I going to find her?"

"I took her phone and copied down Jamie and Vickie's numbers before she left. Just in case. They will pick you up at the airport."

I grabbed my sister-in-law and gave her a big hug, "Thank you so much Rose, you don't know how much I appreciate this."

"I think I do," She said, looking out the window with a smile on her face. I looked up to see Emmett standing there talking with one of his deputies.

I was anxious the whole time I was traveling. I really annoyed the lady that I was sitting next to on the flight from Seattle to Phoenix. I couldn't sit still and was literally bouncing in my seat. I guess I was talking a lot too because a little over an hour into the flight she asked me to shut up and leave her alone. She actually said that to me. So I plugged myself into my Ipod and turned on some classical music in the hopes that it would calm me down a little. My hopes were futile because I just couldn't think of anything but the fact that I was going to see Bella in a matter of hours.

It wasn't until I was getting ready to get off the plane that I realized that I had no idea what this Jamie or Vickie looked like. I stepped off the plane and immediately started walking towards the baggage pickup area. I knew that they would have to be waiting for me there since they wouldn't be able to get to this side of the security checkpoint without tickets.

I saw them as soon as I crossed into the baggage. They were standing in the midst of the crowd but she was the only pregnant woman that I saw anywhere so it had to be them. The guy with her was not what I was expecting. He was tall with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. I couldn't see my Bella with him at all.

Before I knew it we were in their car and on our way. Vickie volunteered to sit in the back, I tried to argue with her, but she told me she'd be happy with the extra room to spread out. And nap, as it turned out. She was asleep before we hit the interstate, which left Jamie and I alone to talk.

He seemed like a really great guy, with the exception of the whole cheating-on-Bella-with-Vickie thing. He asked a lot of questions about me and my family and Forks. He wasn't being rude about it at all, it was so nice that he still cared enough about Bella to want to make sure that she would be safe and watched out for when she moved away.

"She will always be one of my best friends, Edward. I hate that I hurt her but I couldn't help falling in love with Vickie. She's the other half of my soul," he said, looking into the review mirror at the sleeping woman in the back seat.

I was surprised when we pulled up to a restaurant instead of an apartment building. "She's in there having dinner with some friends and if I know them, and I do, they've been drinking their supper instead of eating actual food. See to it that all of them get real food at some point and into cabs. Or call Jane's twin brother, Alec. He'll help you get everyone home safely. This is where we live," he handed me a slip of paper, "I'll put your suitcase in her apartment."

"Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with their drunken asses tonight," he laughed as he pulled away from the curb. I walked into the restaurant and found them immediately. The whole place was watching them. They definitely were drunk and loud.

I walked up to the table just as one of them asked what was in Forks for her. I couldn't help but announce my arrival by answering the question for Bella, "Me."

I should have expected her to try to tackle me as drunk as she was, but I didn't. I nearly fell over as she leapt at me. I probably would have if someone hadn't come up behind us and caught me.

"Alec! Felix! What are you two doing here? Having a date night?" Bella let go of me and threw herself at the two guys behind us.

"No, Jane told us you were having dinner here and we decided to come on down before my dear twin sister called me, all incoherent, begging for a ride home because she hates the smell of cabs."

Bella nodded and then took my hand and led me to the table, "Girls, this is my Edward. Isn't he gorgeous? Be jealous, bitches!" Then Bella plopped down in her chair and downed what was left of her drink and then went to reach for the pitcher for a refill. No way was that happening.

A/N:

Happy Almost Saturday! Thank you to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta and thank you to everyone that nominated this story over at the lemonade stand and voted for me. You guys made my week!

We should be on target for an update next Saturday (or Friday night depending on my mood) and reviews will get teasers.


	18. Chapter 18

Assumption Chapter 18

Title

EPOV:

Between the four of us we managed to get the drunken ones to settle down enough to eat something and then got them into cars. Alec and Felix were a little reluctant to let me leave with Bella until he talked to Jamie. I was fine with that, I was just thrilled that she had people here that made her safety their prime concern, and that they wouldn't let her leave with just anyone when she was too incapacitated to make a coherent decision. Gianna, the only one of the girls that had not been drinking, offered to drive Bella and me back to Bella's while Alec and his boyfriend took the other two to Jane's so they could watch over them through the night.

"So, she's moving to the land of the perpetual monsoon for you?"

"Sort of." I chuckled at her nickname for Forks, it was definitely accurate. "I asked her to, but I doubt that I'm the only reason."

"Hmmm…so how much time do we have before you take her away?"

I looked into the back seat where Bella was stretched out and lightly snoring. It was exactly the same scene that I had seen earlier tonight, only with a pregnant Vickie in the back seat. "It depends on how long it takes her to pack everything and list her condo for sale. So, were you the designated driver tonight?"

"Nah, we never do that. We just make sure to leave our cars at home to force us to take a cab or call for a ride at the end of the night. I'm pregnant so I can't drink."

"Congratulations. Is it your first?"

"Yes. Do you have any kids?"

"Yes. I have a daughter with my ex-wife. They live in New York."

"Ah…I'm not trying to be rude. It's just that I've known Bella for years and I guess we're as close as she'd let anyone near her, except for Jamie. She's always kept people at a distance and I get that about her. But that doesn't mean that I don't love her dearly and want to make sure she's going to be alright. You have to understand, her leaving Phoenix? Especially for Forks? Never in a million years did I think that that would ever happen."

"I understand. And you can ask me anything. I have nothing to hide."

Gianna and I talked the entire way to Bella's. I could totally see why she and Bella were friends, they were pretty much cut from the same cloth. It didn't take long before she pulled up in front of the building and we both got out. I reached into the back seat to try to wake Bella but she was completely out, so I ended up carrying her into the building. Gianna followed us up to help me with the doors.

I put Bella down on her bed and wandered through the apartment to get a feel for where everything was. It was a really nice place. I found my suitcase by the door like Jamie promised me. I decided to take a shower to get rid of the grungy feeling that I felt from being on airplanes all day. But the first thing I did was place a trash can and a glass of water next to Bella in case she woke up sick before I was out of the shower.

It turned out not to be necessary, she was still out cold when I came back into the bedroom. I wandered back out to the living room and sat down on the couch and pulled out my cell phone.

"Hey, Mom," I said when she answered.

"Was she surprised?"

"Yeah, I'd say she was surprised when I showed up at the restaurant where she was having dinner with some of her friends. I'm pretty sure that I'll get to surprise her again when she wakes up in the morning too. She was so drunk that I don't think she'll remember that I'm here, let alone tackling me at the restaurant," I laughed. If she remembered anything about tonight I will be completely shocked.

"Oh, dear!" Mom laughed with me.

"But hey thanks, Mom. I really needed to be here with her and I never had the courage to do it myself. I really appreciate it."

"I know you do because I know my sons well."

"I know you do," I startled a little when a cat jumped up on my lap. I had almost forgotten that she had a pet. I think Bella said her name was Princess. I started petting her head while I talked to Mom a while longer.

I got off the phone with mom when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Vickie standing there, "Hey, Jamie and I are running to the store real quick. I just wanted to check if you guys were home yet and see if you need anything. I know she doesn't have anything for breakfast."

"Yeah, some bacon and eggs? Maybe some coffee? Would you mind if I wrote a little list? I'd ask to go with you but I don't want to leave her. She passed out in the bedroom. I keep expecting her to waking up puking any second now."

"I don't doubt that she will. I've seen that group after a night out. Her problem is that she doesn't drink all that often. Mostly just when she is stressed out about something or gets together with those girls, so it hits her hard when she does drink.

I wrote down a few things that I thought that Bella and I would need and Vickie was on her way. I wandered over to her bookshelves and immediately noticed a worn collection of her own books. She'd told me about these. She was always going back and double checking facts to make sure that her continuity was good. She was always afraid that some fan was going to point out some big error in one of her books someday. I grabbed one off the shelf and went to the bedroom and lay down next to her. I was only a couple of chapters into the book when she sat up suddenly and threw herself headfirst over the edge of the bed and started throwing up. I crawled across the bed and pulled her hair back and thanked God she found the trash can.

BPOV:

Tequila was evil but it was giving me the most amazing dream ever. I was dreaming that Edward was here and in bed with me. Hell, it was so real that I was sure that I could actually smell his cologne. After I stopped throwing up I tried to sit up. I felt hands trying to help me but it wasn't until I heard him speak, trying to get me to rinse my mouth out with some water, that my eyes shot open. He really was here. Or maybe I was still drunk and dreaming. I reached up and touched his face, "You're really here? I'm not dreaming?"

"I'm here, honey. You ready for a shower?"

"No. I wanna lie down again. My stomach hates me and my head is starting to hurt."

"I'd get you some aspirin but I'm afraid you'll just throw it back up." He helped me lie down and covered me up before getting up off the bed and taking the garbage out of the room. I closed my eyes and started to groan but the noise pierced my head. I thought that I heard someone knocking at the door, and on instinct I went to get up and answer it, forgetting that Edward was out there and could do it. The motion made my stomach roll again and I had to jump and run for the bathroom since Edward had yet to return the garbage can.

I felt someone pull my hair back and I knew that it wasn't Edward. The touch was too delicate to be him. When I was done heaving I sat back and found that Vickie was there with me. She helped me off the floor and back to bed. I must have been just dreaming that Edward was here. Figures. I crawled under the covers and was fast asleep again in minutes.

When I woke again, I felt someone holding me. It scared the shit out of me because for the life of me, I couldn't figure out who it could be. I slowly turned my head, not wanting to alert the intruder that I was awake and was shocked to find Edward in my bed.

"Holy Shit! You're really here! Or am I still dreaming?" Yelling was a bad idea because my head felt like someone was stabbing me with an ice pick. I winced and closed my eyes again until I felt Edward's hand on my face.

"Good afternoon sunshine. Are you ready to face the day or would you like some coffee in bed?"

"How are you here? And coffee would be amazing but I don't think I have any."

"I'll explain how I'm here later and you do have coffee. Jamie ran to the store last night and offered to get us a few things. That's why I wasn't here for you when you had to run for the bathroom. I went down to help Jamie carry up the bags and left Vickie to watch you. You have some pretty cool friends, by the way. Although, I'm not too sure about the ones you were getting drunk with. Oh, I had to promise Gianna I'd make sure you came back to see her once in a while, but we can discuss that later, too." I was dazed and confused as Edward walked out of the bedroom. I laid there trying to wrap my head around the fact that he was really here, in Arizona, with me. He wasn't gone long before he returned to bed with the coffee and some dry toast, "You need something in your stomach in case you start throwing up again so you have something to throw up. Plus, you can't take aspirin on an empty stomach."

I sipped on the coffee and nibbled on the toast while he laid next to me and held me, "I missed you. I am so glad that you came."

"Me too."

As soon as I finished the toast, Edward handed me two aspirin and a glass of water. I swallowed them and lay back willing everything to stay down, "I should get up and pack some more."

"Nah, take the rest of the day off. We're in no hurry, but maybe a shower and brushing your teeth would be a good thing."

"Oh God!" I exclaimed, absolutely mortified. I had to smell nasty after drinking so much and puking all night. I got up and wobbled my way to the bathroom with some help from Edward. He left me to have some privacy to get undressed after he started the shower for me. But not before kissing me on the forehead and telling me how glad he was to have me in his arms again. I guess I must not smell that bad if he was willing to get that close to me voluntarily.

I did feel more like a human being after a hot shower and brushing my teeth twice. When I came out into the living room I found Edward lying on my couch, with Princess on his lap, and reading the first book in my series. The scene before me made me smile big time. I could easily get used to seeing this kind of scene often.

I walked over to the living room and sat down on the coffee table. He looked up at me, smiled, and closed the book, "So if you're here, who's minding the store?" He sat up and told me how miserable he was after I had left. I could believe that because I was just as bad as he was admitting to be. I was beyond thrilled that he was going to be driving back with me. I was not even remotely interested in making that drive alone again. I'd already done it twice recently and a third time spending that much time alone in a car and I might just lose my mind permanently. I moved over to the couch and leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around me and held me, "I'm so glad that you are here."

We sat there for a while, just being, until I had a sudden hit of inspiration. I grabbed my laptop and spent the next hour writing while Edward kept trying to peek over my shoulder to read what I was writing. I kept swatting him away and he kept laughing and trying again to read. When I was done for the day I was finally feeling well enough to take him out and show him a little of Phoenix.

It took us another two weeks to finish packing and be ready to return to Washington, because I kept stopping to write or sightsee with Edward. One afternoon, while Edward was in the shower, I took a call from Esme. I tried to apologize for keeping Edward gone so long but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Bella, the times that I've actually managed to get my son on the phone since he got to Phoenix, he's sounded happier and lighter than I've heard him in years. He hasn't taken an actual vacation since, well, since his honeymoon. He's been to New York since his divorce but those weren't exactly restful trips. If you can get him to relax and enjoy himself, do it. We're fine here."

But our time in Phoenix came to an end. It was bittersweet for me, actually. On the night before we were going to leave, Jamie and Vickie surprised us with a going away dinner with our friends. Edward was a little worried after what he walked in on the night he arrived in Phoenix, but I promised him that I wouldn't drink. There was no way that I wanted to be hung over and stuck in a car all day.

We had a fun night and my friends had a good time telling stories about me all night. Let me rephrase that, they told Edward every and any story they could recall that would embarrass the shit out of me. They stories slowed to a virtual stop once the girls started getting drunk.

There were a lot of tears when Edward and I were ready to leave and head home for the night. I promised Gi, as had Edward, that I would return for her baby shower and again after the baby was born. I had promised Vickie the same thing. Some might call me crazy for being friends with Vickie, but I held a grudge against my father for years, I wasn't going to make that mistake again, even if I was justified this time.

Soon it was morning and we were ready to leave. We had rented a U-Haul and attached a trailer to pull my car. I had considered selling it before I left but after I found out how low the blue book value on it really was, Edward had another idea. Angela and Mike needed a more reliable and safer car for when the baby arrived so I agreed to give it to them as a baby gift.

A/N:

Happy Friday (or Saturday if it already is where you are) and Merry Christmas!

I had every intention of posting this last weekend but I got thwarted by Cox Cable. The email system crashed and took my chapter with it. Unfortunately, when I work on this at work, I have to delete all traces of the file from the computer so IT doesn't have a fit. Next time I email the file from work, I'll send it to two of my email addresses to prevent this from happening again. By the time that I got the email, it was already Wednesday so I decided to wait to post.

I am off to take some pain pills maybe some Z-quil and crash. I am in pain from shoveling snow yesterday. To those in the path of the storm that hit us yesterday, stay safe, dry, and warm! Well, at least try to. See you guys next Saturday and remember that reviews will get a teaser.


	19. Chapter 19

Assumptions Chapter 19

Road Trip

EPOV

Our first stop before we pulled out of Phoenix was a gas station to top off the tank and stock up on soda and snacks. Bella picked up enough junk food for a sugar addict's nirvana. I was eager to hit the road as we had a lot of ground to cover before we hit the hotel we had reservations at tonight.

I had gone online and booked us hotel rooms at places that would allow pets because we were traveling with Princess, who, from what I could see from her spot on the floor at Bella's feet, was currently scowling at me from her carrier. Bella warned me that the only time she'd ever had to put Princess in it was to take her to the vet so she hated it, but I didn't realized that that meant that she'd try to shred me like a carrot. I currently had half a box of Band-Aids on my hands and arms from my attempt to get her into the carrier. I should have listened to Bella and waited for her because she threw a piece of lunch meat in there, tricking the damn animal, and got her into the carrier with no blood shed. I could tell right now that this cat was going to hold a grudge and get revenge on me when I was least expecting it.

We pulled into the hotel parking lot at about eight that night. We were all hungry and I had a headache from the cat yowling in her carrier for the last hour. Bella had been trying to calm her, but there wasn't much that she could do for the cat short of letting her out to run free in the truck. Bella did not want to resort to that because she'd never get her back in and was scared of trying to carry her from the truck to our hotel room without her spooking and trying to bolt.

Finally, we got checked into our room and I went to take a shower while Bella fed the cat and set up her litter box. Bella went to take her shower when I got out and I took some Aleve and ordered us a pizza. Thank God there was a place that was willing to deliver to the hotel because I was not in the mood to leave and go pick something up.

I laid down on the bed and started flipping through channels on the TV while I waited for the pizza to arrive. I looked over at the next bed and found Princess lying there, staring at me. She had the same look on her face that the rescue panther did on that insurance commercial. I just shrugged. The cat liked me before I tried to stuff her butt in that carrier, she'd get over it eventually.

I heard the shower turn off and Bella's hair dryer turn on. I could just see her standing there naked with her wet hair dripping down her body. I tried to concentrate on the TV but my eyes kept drifting over to the bathroom door. The urge to throw open that door, carry her out, throw her onto the bed and have wild sex with her all night was nearly overwhelming. I looked back over to Princess who had narrowed her eyes at me, like she knew what I was thinking and she was dead set against that plan. I shook my head. There was no way that I would be able to have sex with an animal in the room watching me. That would be like doing it in public or something. I'd be too self-conscious. Plus I didn't want something like that for our first time together.

Finally, the pizza guy showed up and got my attention away from Bella in the bathroom. I heard her shut off the hair dryer as I was walking to the door so I knew that she'd be out in a second. I was trying to pay the guy while attempting to keep Princess from bolting out of the door. It wasn't easy. She almost got past a couple of times before Bella finally came out of the bathroom and came over to get her. She held her until I was done and shut the door. I turned around to see Bella lying on the bed and the cat rubbing up against her and purring. Hmmm. I was going to have to play hard ball if I was going to get this cat to love me again.

I laid down next to Bella and we ate the pizza right out of the box. I was picking pieces of meat off my slices and feeding it to Princess. By the time the pizza was gone that cat loved me and was sitting on my lap. Bribes never hurt anyone.

We went to sleep shortly after that. All three of us in the same bed. I was really getting used to sleeping next to Bella and waking up holding her in the morning. I was going to have some major withdrawals when we got back home and she slept at her place and me at mine. We were going to have to have some sleep overs often and soon. I had not been with anyone since Tanya and I was really ready. Not that I'd pressure Bella into doing anything that she didn't want to do or wasn't ready for. Even if all we did was sleep next to each other, I'd be happy with that.

Two days later we drove into Forks. We had been delayed by a big accident and it was now three in the morning. I grabbed our overnight bags and she grabbed the cat and we made our way into her house. We agreed that it only made sense if I crashed there since I would just have to come back later and help her unpack the U-Haul. I had called Emmett and Mike from Phoenix and both of them, along with Dad, were going to help me unload the truck. Mom and Rose were going to help Bella unpack boxes and Angie wanted to do what she could, which wasn't much. She was now eight months along none of us wanted her to overdo it.

Bella let the cat out and I helped her set everything up for Princess before we walked upstairs together hand in hand. She had taken apart Charlie's bed so the only one available was the twin in her old room. That was fine with me. It just meant that for one last night, I'd get to hold her to me as tightly as possible.

BPOV:

If I thought that pulling out of Phoenix with all my things packed into a U-Haul was enough to make me come close to hyperventilating, it was nothing compared to pulling into Forks. I had a brief moment of freak out in my head over whether or not I had made the right decision or if Mom was right and I'd lost my mind. I just had to believe that I was doing the right thing now and enjoy the change of scenery that this move was going to give me. That was actually what I had really wanted and needed.

It was raining, Again. I just hoped that we'd get a break later when it came to carrying everything from the truck to the house. I was thrilled when Edward agreed to stay so easily. I wasn't ready for him to leave and to have to sleep alone again. Not that we'd done anything other than actually sleep together or cuddle at this point. We were both content to wait. He and I had each only been with one other person and it wasn't easy to put yourself out there like that again and make yourself so vulnerable. I think that is why we initially hit it off so well. We both understood each other's hesitancy to risk our hearts again.

I woke up to Edward wrapped around me in my little twin bed and I had to smile. I really could get used to this becoming a permanent thing. I carefully extricated myself and quietly made my way out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. I wanted to make us something to eat but I didn't have anything left here. I hadn't been sure how long I was going to be in Arizona and I had emptied the fridge so I didn't have to return to a refrigerator full of spoiled food.

I figured that I would just have to run over to see if Rose had any extra bacon and eggs lying around. That is, until I walked into the kitchen and found a note on the table being held down by a canister of coffee.

_We thought that you'd need something for breakfast this morning. Rose put a casserole in the fridge. Heat it at 350 for 30 minutes. There are also some muffins in the bread box. You can pop those in the oven for the last 5 minutes the casserole is in. Cream for your coffee is in the fridge. Call us when you're ready to get to work unpacking._

_Love,_

_Esme_

I was seriously considering kissing Edward's mother the next time I saw her. This was just awesome. I started the oven preheating and took the casserole out of the fridge. I pulled back a corner of the foil and did a little happy dance when I realized that it was the same casserole that Rose brought over the first morning she'd come for breakfast. I would really have to come up with a way to thank them for everything that they'd done for me.

As the casserole warmed up and the coffee brewed the house started filling up with the wonderful smells of the food and it wasn't long before Edward came stumbling down the stairs.

"Hey Rose!" He called out as he made his way to the couch and collapsed onto it, lying face down. I laughed at him because he didn't even have his eyes open yet. He had obviously smelled her casserole and assumed that she was here.

"Edward!" I called out. The only response that I got from him was a groan. I walked into the kitchen without another word and took the casserole out of the oven. I turned to make Edward a cup of coffee and plated us both some breakfast before I returned to the living room. I held one of the plates up to his face, right under his nose. It only took a few seconds before he sat up and grabbed the plate from me.

Once he was fully awake I told him that Rose and his mom had dropped off stuff for breakfast. He agreed with me that we were going to have to do something really nice for them. They had done so much for us, and not just the food. They made sure that Edward could stay with me in Phoenix until I was ready to come back. How do you adequately thank someone for something that amazing and sweet?

As soon as we were done eating Edward and I called everyone and told them that we were ready whenever they were able to get here. While we were waiting, Edward and I dismantled the small bed in my room and moved it to dad's. I wasn't sure that I would keep it there permanently but I wasn't sure what else to do with that room. Within an hour, everyone was here and we were knee deep in boxes. Emmett, Edward, and Michael carried in the few pieces of furniture that I brought with me. Edward and Michael worked on setting up my bed in the bedroom that had always been mine while his dad and brother brought in the remaining boxes.

We girls were busy unpacking boxes. Angela was very near the end of her pregnancy and none of us would let her do much. Carlisle carried in a box of dishes and Angela set to work unwrapping all of the plates. I had used my T-shirts to wrap them for extra cushion. As soon as she was done she carried them over to the sink where Esme washed them before putting them away.

As soon as the boys were done with the bed, Rose and I set out putting everything that belonged in my bedroom.

"So, things seem to be going better with you and Edward." I smiled at how direct she was. Rose wouldn't ever beat around the bush. That just wasn't the way that she was with someone that she considered a friend.

"Yeah. We're good. We had fun in Phoenix."

"You two didn't have any fun in the hotels you stayed at on the drive up?"

"Oh my God! Rose!" I blushed.

"What? You write hot sex scenes but you're too shy to talk about your sex life?"

"We didn't…we haven't…yet."

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for?"

"To at least go on our official first date."

"You haven't yet?"

"We went a lot of places but he has something specific planned for our 'first date'."

"Tell me that you at least slept in the same bed and fooled around a little!"

"We shared a bed but the only thing we've done so far is kiss and cuddle."

"Who knew the greatest romance novelist of our time was such a prude in real life."

"Hey! I'm not a prude. I just have self-respect. He's at least taking me on one date before I jump his ass." That got Rose laughing.

Edward walked in right then carrying another box, "What's so funny?"

"Self-respect," Rose answered. Edward looked at us like we were crazy and fled from the room, leaving us to get back to work.

It took most of the day to get all my stuff moved in and put away. Without everyone's help it would have taken me days to get it done. I was so grateful for their help. By five that afternoon we were all exhausted and starving so I handed Edward my credit card and told him to order pizza from that awesome place in town he'd ordered from before. Rose sent Emmett over to their house to grab soda and milk for everyone. I'm sure that she'd have had him grab a couple bottles of wine if Michael hadn't been here. He was still on the wagon and trying really hard to keep it that way. That was fine with me, I had drunk more lately than I normally did, so a night remaining sober while hanging out with friends was probably a good thing for me.

We sat around my living room eating, joking, and laughing all evening. Michael and Angela were the first to leave. She was falling asleep in her chair so Michael took her home to put her to bed. Carlisle and Esme left shortly after that. They still had to drive home. Emmett and Rose stayed for another half hour. Bree was already crashed upstairs in my new guest room. Emmett went up to get her when they were ready to go and carried the still sleeping child home, where he and his wife would put her to bed. Edward stayed for another hour after that. Neither of us were ready to separate. Finally, he had to go before he fell asleep on the way home. I offered to let him take my truck but he said that he was too tired to drive and it would be better if he walked. We stood on the front porch, neither one of us willing for him to turn and walk away for the night. It was at the tip of my tongue to just ask him to stay but I didn't. I watched walk down the street until he disappeared around the corner.

After he was gone, I locked the doors and started wandering through my new home. It was strange to think of this as my home now. I found that I was tired and antsy at the same time. I was not ready to crawl into bed and try to go to sleep yet so I ran myself a hot bath. As I laid there letting the hot water relax all my tired and sore muscles, I allowed my mind to wander to Edward and his meadow. I wanted to go back there with him. I found myself hoping that he would take me there soon.

A/N:

Thanks to Sweetpea123 for being an amazing beta and friend. I did change some things in this chapter after she sent it back to me, so any and all boo-boo's are my doing.

It's a new year and times for new starts. I am determined to find a new job this year. That is just one goal for me this year. So, I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and an amazing New Year. Reviews will get teasers. I promise to try to get them out sooner than the day before I post. Thank you for reading.


	20. Chapter 20

Assumptions Chapter 20

Settling

BPOV:

It took me a good couple of weeks to be totally settled into the house. I kept finding something that just wasn't right and changing it or moving it to a new spot. Just this week, I decided that I was going to redecorate the bathroom because the paint was peeling. That led to deciding that the hallway would need to be repainted and then redoing the bedrooms. Before I knew it, I had decided to redecorate the whole house. Then there was Emmett's campaign that I was helping with and I still had to finish my book and get it off to the editor. It was nearly complete; I was just putting the finishing touches on it.

Edward and I had both been looking for a chance to go an 'actual date' but we'd both been busy. Not that he hadn't come by a few nights for a late supper and to hang out after he closed the store. Saturday night he and I were finally going to do it, go on that date I mean. I was so excited that I asked Rose to drive up to Port Angeles with me so that I could buy a new dress for the night. But that was still two days away. Today I was with Esme planning out the remodel.

We were sitting at my kitchen table and she was drawing out everything that we talked about. She had drawn a diagram of each room in the house and we were talking about color schemes. There was a part of me that felt guilty for wanting to change Charlie's house, like somehow he'd be upset with me. But Edward was very supportive of the idea that I make Charlie's house my home in any way that I wanted. He was also adamant that Charlie would have just been thrilled that I was living here and he wouldn't care how I changed things. I had decided on a simple black and white scheme for my bedroom. Esme and I were going to drive up to Seattle for a couple of days and shop for bedding, furniture, and towels. There were no good furniture stores any closer that Esme would consider to be good enough. We were going to leave Monday, and if all went well we'd be coming home Tuesday night.

After hours of drawing and discussing colors and what would and wouldn't work based on what side on the house the room was on, Esme was adamant that I not place the bed across from the window in the room that faced east. The sun would shine in first thing in the morning and then if the color scheme was too bright, the person sleeping in that room would have a rude awakening. I told her for that to be true the sun would have to actually come out, and if that did happen I'd want to spend every minute that I could out in it, even if it meant getting out of bed at dawn. Esme laughed but agreed with me on that point.

By the time that Esme left for the day we had everything planned out and we were ready to go shopping. After she was gone, I called to order Chinese to be delivered and changed into my work clothes, otherwise known as the rattiest pair of sweats imaginable since Edward was staying home to have a skype visit with his daughter. I pulled open my laptop and committed myself to finishing this manuscript tonight. Eight hours later, my vision was completely blurred and I was stumbling into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I needed a small break because this was going to be a very long night.

I moved from the sofa to the dinner table around three in the morning when I realized that the sofa was too comfortable and I was struggling to stay awake. I was still sitting there, on my third pot of coffee when Rose and Bree came knocking at the door.

"Oh you look like you've been working hard all night. Let me throw this in the oven then I'll make us some fresh coffee," Rose said as I let them in.

Bree walked in behind her mother and threw herself into my arms, "Good morning, Miss Bella. Mama is going to ask you to stay with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She and daddy wanna go out to see a movie."

"Bree! I'm sorry, Bella, I was going to bring it up a bit more tactfully, but Emmett and I want to go see a movie that is not little girl friendly and we were wondering if you'd watch her for us. Esme and Carlisle already have plans that night with some friends."

"MOM! I'm gonna be four. I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm a big girl . You said so." Then she turned to me, "Mama said that I'm a big girl now cuz only big girls getta go to school and I get to go to school soon."

"Really?"

"Yes. We signed her up for pre-school while you and Edward were in Arizona. I'm still a little in denial that my baby is old enough to go to school," Rose said as she came into the living room and sat down on my couch. "So, how close are you being finished with the book?"

"Ugh. I just have one or two more chapters to look over. Then I'll start over at the beginning with rereading and editing. I'm obsessive about making sure that everything is the way I want it before I send it off to my editor."

"Then it's done and ready for printing?"

"No. Then she reads it and so does a team of people the look for grammar, flow, and continuity issues and they send it back to me with a ton of notes and 'suggestions' attached. Then I start my rereading and editing process all over again. We've been known to scrap several chapters and I have to rewrite a portion of the book at that point before."

"I didn't realize that there was so much that went into writing a book before. I guess I never really thought about the whole process, I just get to enjoy the final product."

"I had such a rude awakening when they published my first book. When they sent the manuscript back with all these notes and changes, I cried for days. My first editor wasn't as nice as the one I have now. He didn't take the time to explain any of the process to me. I calmed down after awhile and, at Jamie's urging, really looked at what they were saying. Most of the suggestions made sense once I thought about it. Some things I fought to keep the same. I had a plan for future books and refused to compromise on it."

"That is what makes your books the best out there."

"Thanks, Rose," I laughed, "but you really don't have to butter me up, I'll watch Bree whenever you need me to. Just tell me it's not this Saturday night."

"No. Emmett has to work this weekend. We wanted to go Wednesday. He works during the day but is off Thursday so we don't have to worry about him having to get up for work the next morning."

"Just let me know what time you need me."

"Thanks so much, Bella."

We sat and talked for the rest of the morning until Bree started whining that she was hungry again and we realized that it was going on noon so they left to go home and make lunch. As soon as they were gone, I went upstairs and jumped into a hot shower and then lay down to take a nap. I needed some rest to clear my head before I resumed work again. I intended it to be only a two hour catnap, but when I woke up I was shocked to find myself in complete darkness. I grabbed my watch off the nightstand and was surprised that I'd slept until ten. I'd lost the entire day of work.

EPOV:

Mom came to help out and close the store for me so that I could get ready for my date with Bella tonight. We were going to have to leave early to make the drive up to Port Angeles in time to get dinner before the show. The Port Angeles Community Players were putting on "Twelve Angry Men". They always put on a good show so I got tickets to surprise Bella. The movie had come on one night and Bella mentioned that she loved it, from the complexity of each character and the pasts and prejudices that they bring with them, to the jury room and the simplicity that the whole story takes place in one room over the span of just one afternoon. I couldn't wait to see her reaction at seeing it live.

I got out of the shower and walked over to my closet and pulled out my black suit. I chose an evergreen shirt and black tie to go with it. I had cornered Rose after they had gone shopping and she told me that Bella had bought an evergreen dress for our date. That was all she would tell me about the dress, not wanting to ruin the effect for me. All I had told not Bella anything about the night that I planned for us except that we would need to dress up.

I fought with my tie for almost a half an hour before I finally gave up and ran downstairs, "MOM! HELP!"

She smiled at me and calmly got the tie knotted in one try. Why was it whenever it was a special occasion ties never cooperated?

"There you go, honey. Do you need anything else?"

"Nah. I just couldn't get that stupid tie to do what I wanted it to."

I went back upstairs and groaned when I caught a look at myself in the mirror over the dresser and saw what a disaster my hair was. I went back into the bathroom and attempted to find a way to tame it. I eventually gave up. One day I was going to have to come to terms with the fact that there was no controlling my hair. I went to the refrigerator and grabbed the tulips that I bought for Bella at lunch. I had looked at white roses first but then thought better of it. I was afraid that it was too soon after Charlie's funeral and the roses would only make her think of burying her father. I didn't want to sour the mood from the start so I chose the tulips.

I didn't know why I was so nervous. Yes, technically we were considering this our first date, but we had been out places together many times already. I tried to calm myself with some classical music on the drive over to Bella's, but the drive was too short. I pulled into the driveway and took a deep breath before gathering all the courage that I could muster and got out of the car.

I had much dating experience when I was a teenager. Tanya was my first date and first girlfriend. Hell, she was my first everything and the only girl I had ever wanted to go out on a date with for many years. There was a point in my life that I thought that I had gotten off easy. I had never had a broken heart and I was going to spend the rest of my life with my high school sweetheart. But life didn't work out that way. I had my heart ripped out when Tanya chose a new life in New York and excitement over me. Tanya had moved on with her life and now, I was ready to move on with mine.

With that resolve in my mind I opened the car door and got out. Now that I was thinking of Bella being in there, waiting for me, I was so excited that I had to force myself not to run from my car to the front door. I rang the bell, which still felt unnatural to do at Charlie's house, but it wasn't Charlie's house anymore.

When the door finally opened I was expecting to see Bella standing there and to be able to see her beautiful brown eyes. I was surprised to find that there were no eyes there looking back at me. I looked down to see my niece standing there smiling up at me, "Hi Uncle Edward."

I picked Bree up and carried her into the house. "Where is your-oh there you are, Rose. I didn't think she'd be answering the door without you nearby," I said as I kissed my sister in law on the cheek.

"She has a thing about answering the door lately. She knows that she has to ask first, though."

"Sounds reasonable," I said, putting Bree down. She took off running upstairs to where I supposed that Bella was finishing getting ready.

I heard footstep on the stair and I looked up at a sight that took my breath away. Bella was standing there looking absolutely stunning in a sexy dress that covered only one of her shoulders. The other shoulder was bare as the dress dipped down under her arm. The male in me immediately realized that there was no way that she was wearing a bra with a dress cut like that. I tried to push those thoughts out of my head to remain as much of a gentleman as I could.

Her face broke out in a huge smile as she continued down the stairs and I held the bouquet of tulips out to her.

"Oh, Edward, they are beautiful and my favorite! I don't remember telling you that they were my favorite flowers."

"You didn't. I just got lucky, I guess." I thought I heard her mutter, 'yeah, you just might get lucky' as she walked towards me and took the flowers from me with a kiss to my cheek.

"Just let me put these in water and I'll be ready to go."

"I'll do that for you, Bella. You guys should get going." Bella handed Rose the flowers with a thanks. She melted my heart even more when she turned to Bree and gave her a big hug goodbye before we left. She was so good with Bree and I knew that she'd be just as wonderful with my daughter when I brought her back her in a couple months. I couldn't wait to see Bella with my Abby.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! I made a lot of changes after Sweetpea123 got this back to me so all mistakes are mine. A little over a week ago, I was going through my twitter list and unfollowing people that left the fandom over two years and ago and for some reason are refusing to talk to me now, like I'm suddenly some ogre or something. Well, I somehow managed to unfollow some people that I didn't mean to. If I've unfollowed you by accident please let me know and we'll get that fixed. If you haven't follow me yet and you want to, I am Branson101 there. I do mention updates on chapters once in a while and when I think the updates will be coming. I'm also on Facebook as Branson Writering. I am resolved to go on there more this year. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week.


	21. Chapter 21

Assumptions Chapter 21

Title

BPOV:

"Come on! Won't you tell me where we are going now?"

"Port Angeles."

"I figured that much out. Please?"

"Fine. We are going to get dinner and that is all that I am going to tell you," Edward said with a smile. I let it drop. I didn't want to start a fight with him tonight. I sat back in my seat and watched the scenery pass by us. We made small comments as we drove along, mostly about cars that passed us or little things we saw on the side of the road, but mostly just enjoyed a comfortable silence.

Before I knew it he was pulling up in front of a restaurant. I knew him well enough already that I knew that he was raised to be a gentleman, so I waited for him to come around the car to open my door and help me out of the car. I could have opened my own door, but I had never anyone that insisted on holding doors for me, not Jamie, not Phil, not even Charlie. I have to say that I kind of liked it. Okay, I liked it a lot.

Edward took my hand as I turned to step out of the car. Once I was standing he wrapped his arm around my waist and kept it there as we walked to the door of the restaurant. The hostess led us to our table right away, "I thought a corner booth would suit you and the lady," she said as she placed the menus down on the table. "Chris will be right with you. Enjoy your meal." She smiled lightly at us and turned to walk away.

Chris showed up almost immediately and took our drink order. I didn't really like that she spent a few extra seconds looking at Edward before she turned to take my drink order, but it wasn't exactly inappropriate so I just let it go. I grabbed the menu and started looking at it, "Anything you recommend?"

"Everything here is good, but I especially love the seafood alfredo."

"That does sound good. I think I'll go with that." We fell into more easy conversation through dinner and before I knew it, Edward was trying to flag down the waitress and take care of our bill so that we would make it to our next destination on time. I still had no clue where he was taking me, but I was willing to follow him blindly. The waitress was standing over by the server's station with a book in her hand when she finally noticed Edward trying to get her attention. It had only taken a couple of seconds to look up at us and she only had two other tables besides us, and they were on dessert as well. So it wasn't like she was ignoring her customers for her book, on the contrary she had been very attentive to us and I hoped that Edward was leaving her a nice tip. It was rare to get good service anymore, so I always tried to be generous whenever I found a good one. Out of curiosity, I stopped to see what book it was that she was reading and I laughed when I realized that it was the first in my series.

I looked up and realized that I had been caught checking out the book so I smiled at her, "Are you enjoying the book?"

"Oh yes. The other girls here told me that I just had to read the series. I just can't seem to put it down. I'm going to buy the rest of the series tomorrow. Have you read them?"

"Yes, actually I have."

"Don't you just love the series?" I turned to see the hostess standing behind me before going on and on about how much she loved the books and was in love with some of the characters. It was times like this that gave me the truest pride in my work. I loved meeting fans like this. "I can honestly say those books have had the most amazing effect on me," I told them. I was practiced at keeping a straight face but I could see that Edward was about to lose it.

"I hope the next one comes out soon," the hostess sighed.

"I heard a rumor that the manuscript was done and it should only be a few more months."

"That would be awesome," the hostess said before turning to go back up front and greet some customers that just walked through the door.

It was also times like this that I was glad that I used a penname and no one knew that I was the author. I didn't have to deal with the paparazzi following me everywhere. Edward and I would probably have already had our pictures plastered over the internet if that was the case. Plus, I could meet fans and hear honest answers from them and not get bothered when I was out with friends and family. Anonymity does have its draw backs though, I once asked a lady what she thought of my book and she said that she didn't understand why people liked them. She hated it. She said that she was ready to just throw it in the garbage because it was boring and trite and a waste of her time. I had to excuse myself from her quickly before I started crying. It wasn't the first time I'd heard a negative review for one of my books. The professional reviewers loved to tear them apart. Those I could deal with, but to hear it from a reader really hurt. I know that she'd never have been that cruel if she knew that I was the author, but it hurt all the same.

Edward held my hand as we drove to our next destination. All I could think about right now was the feeling of his hand in mine, more specifically, the feeling of his skin on mine. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't even realized that he had parked the car and was standing next me with the door open.

He led us around to the front of the building and I stopped in my tracks and actually squealed when I saw where we were. We were seeing "Twelve Angry Men," live. Best first date ever! That was the point that I realized that he had really taken the time to get to know who I was and what I liked, and planned our night around me and my happiness. That is when I grabbed him, pulled him to me, and kissed him. I don't mean a little peck on the lips. I mean a full on kiss filled with more passion than any kiss I had ever experienced. I was a struggle not go more carried away than was appropriate since we were standing on a sidewalk with people walking around us.

EPOV:

I was seriously about to lose it, standing there and watching Bella talking to that waitress about her books. Poor thing had absolutely no idea that she was talking to the author herself and that she'd literally just been given some major inside information. Hell, she'd told me a few days ago that she was nearly ready to send it off to her editor but it was news to me that she'd actually completed it.

But I didn't want our whole night to revolve around either of our jobs or pasts, tonight was going to be about us and only us. I knew that she'd be thrilled to see the play, but I didn't expect her to kiss me like that. It wasn't the first kiss that we'd shared but it was by far the most passionate and intense.

Finally we broke apart and she smiled at me before taking my hand, "We better get inside and find our seats, I don't want to miss a second of it."

Mom and Dad had brought Emmett and me to the theater all the time when we were kids, but it had been years since I'd been here. Tanya wasn't the "going to the theatre" type so I stopped asking her to come with me and I didn't want to go alone, so I just stopped coming all together. We walked into the front door and I noticed immediately that they really hadn't changed much about the place. It still looked the same to me, although I know from Mom that they've changed the carpet a few years ago and added in a bar.

"I love going to the theatre now, but when we were kids, Emmett and I would throw fits when Mom and Dad would tell us that they got tickets for us to come see a play. Emmett would literally run into the woods and hide in a tree."

"Why would you do that?" she asked as we made our way over to the bar.

"They always made us dress up in suits and ties and no seven or nine year old boy likes dressing up".

"I can get that. I was never one for dresses when I was young, but now I enjoy a chance to dress up fancy and go out once in a while. I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but times like tonight, well, tonight is a great reason to dress up and break out the heels."

We talked some more about our childhood as we waited to be able to go to our seats. The more I talked to her the more I realized that she was not as bought off by Phil as Charlie made her out to be. Charlie made it out that Phil was able to and did buy Bella anything and everything that she wanted. He also made it out that they traveled all the time to exotic locations, when in reality, they rarely went on trips unless it was Bella and her mother getting in their car and following Phil who was on his team's bus to his away games in the summer. I wondered what had caused Charlie to think that way. Why had he never tried harder to push for a relationship with his daughter?

The play was amazing, it was nothing more than a local community theatre, but they always held themselves to a high standard and the shows were always great. Bella was engrossed in the show from the time that the curtain started to rise until the actors came out for their final bows. Neither of us was ready for the evening to be over so we went to a coffee house for a quick cup of coffee. Well, it wasn't such a quick cup. We sat there for two hours talking and laughing before we realized how late it was, so we reluctantly made our way back to Forks. It was after one in the morning before we finally pulled up in front of Bella's house, but I still walked her to the door and accepted her invitation to come in for a bit. Even with the late hour, the excitement of the evening had us both wide awake and energized. Bella ran upstairs to change quickly before going into the kitchen to get a bottle of wine out of the fridge and pour each of us a glass while I put a movie into the DVD player.

I settled onto the couch and waited for Bella to join me before I started the movie. I'd chosen one that I found in her collection that was a personal favorite of mine, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World". It was a hilarious movie that was packed full of actors that were big name stars of the day, like Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, and Buddy Hackett. It about a bunch of strangers that witness a car accident and the victim tells them that there is money buried in this park, and they all take off to find it before the others do and hilarity ensues.

Bella came in and handed me my glass before sitting next to me and curling into my side. We watched the movie for a while before I just couldn't help myself anymore and I turned and started kissing her. It wasn't but a few seconds before we were lying down on the couch with me on top of her and the movie was completely forgotten.

I was trying not to take things too far but it wasn't easy because I wanted her so bad. I did reach my hand up her shirt and grabbed her breast before I realized what I was doing. It was the fact that she was not wearing a bra that surprised me and brought me to my senses. I started to pull my hand back but she grabbed my hand from above her shirt, "don't stop. Please don't stop." I didn't. We continued to kiss and grope at each other until the exhaustion from all the excitement of the day finally hit us and we were just too tired to continue.

Bella stood up and held her hand out to me, "please stay." I nodded my head and took her hand and together we went up to her bedroom. Bella stripped off her stretch pants, leaving her in nothing but her oversized t-shirt. I watched as she climbed into her bed before I stripped down to my boxers and climbed in next to her.

"I really didn't want to stop what we were doing downstairs. I want to be with you, so much, but I'm just too tired tonight."

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, "I know, sweetheart, I want to be with you too. I'm just as tired as you are and I don't think either of us really wants to embarrass ourselves by falling asleep in the middle of making love."

"Soon," was all that I heard her whisper before she fell asleep. I fell asleep shortly after she did but only after forming a plan for tomorrow in my head. We were supposed to go to my parent's for Sunday dinner after church but I had different plans in mind for Bella and myself. I would ask Bella in the morning in she wanted to go, and if she said yes then I could let mom know at church that we wouldn't be joining them that evening.

A/N:

Happy Saturday. Thanks for Sweetpea123 for being an amazing beta and even more amazing friend. I did make some changes after she sent this back so all mistakes are mine. Due to real life issues right now, updates are going to be every two weeks. I hate to have to do it but I don't have a choice at the moment. Thank you for reading and reviews would be an amazing birthday present for me. ;) I'll even give a teaser for reviews. See you in two weeks!


	22. Chapter 22

Assumptions Chapter 22

Soon

EPOV:

I woke up to the alarm on my phone but Bella slept right through it. I went downstairs to start some coffee before I had to wake her up. Thankfully the sun was out; I knew that it was going to rain the rest of the week so I really did want to make the most of the nice day. I wanted to ask her if she'd spend the day with me before I had to run home and change for church. Both my mother and sister saw me in this suit last night so there was no way that I could wear it to church today without them questioning me and Bella about it, although, Rose was bound to notice that my car was sitting in Bella's driveway this morning. At that thought, I walked to the front window and looked across the street to my brother and sister in law's house to see if I could catch her peering out her front window.

As soon as the coffee was finished brewing I made each of us a cup and took them upstairs, laid the mugs on the nightstand, and crawled back into bed with Bella. I wrapped my arms around her and started kissing her neck until she woke up, "I could get used to being woken up like that," she joked, as she rolled onto her back and smiled at me. I showed her the mug of coffee and she just got even more excited as she sat up, "you keep this up and I might just make you move in with me," she laughed. I kissed her on the cheek and shrugged. I'd be lying if I hadn't fantasized about that possibility, but I knew that she wasn't serious, at least not yet. Maybe someday. I don't know, it feels to me like we've known each other for years rather than the few weeks that it really had been.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go back to the meadow with me today. Spend the day there, alone, instead of with my whole family at my parent's house?"

"Yeah. I'd love to." I kissed her before telling her that I was going to run home to change and would be back in about an hour to pick her up for church. Bella had not been raised to go to church by her mother but she had been attending with me and my family since she officially moved here. Charlie had not been much of a church goer either, at least not in the spring, summer, or fall. Basically any time of the year when the weather was nice enough for him to be out fishing, he was. He didn't mind fishing in the rain but drew the line at snow and ice.

I hurried home and took a quick shower before changing into a fresh suit. I grabbed a duffel bag and tossed a change of clothes in it before I went to the kitchen and threw together a few sandwiches, some chips, and some fruit. As an afterthought, I grabbed a bottle of wine out from my wine chiller and packed it all in a cooler bag. I then grabbed a large blanket to take with us for something to sit on.

When I got to Bella's house I carried the basket of food and my change of clothes in with me. We put the food in the fridge to keep everything cold while we were gone. Bella looked just as beautiful as she did last night; she was wearing what I've come to know as her favorite sundress with a sweater over it. She had her hair pulled up in a messy bun and I could tell that it was still wet from her shower. There was a major part of me that wished that I could have stayed here and showered with her. She kissed me before grabbing her sandals from the entry way and sliding them on. Then we were ready to head out.

My parents were already there when we walked in so we went to join them. As usual, Emmett and Rose were running behind. They were good for running in a few minutes before mass started. Ok, they were good for running in a few minutes _after_ mass started as well. My brother plopped down next to me at that moment and Reverend Webber came out and started mass.

After the service was over Bella stopped to talk to Mom for a few minutes. We had already told them not to expect us for dinner. I knew that Mom loved to have everyone come over for dinner, but she always understood when we couldn't make it. Emmett would quite often show up just in time to eat and then leave again when he was on weekend duty. It was not unheard of for me not to come by either.

Mom and Bella had made plans to go shopping for the remodel of Bella's house tomorrow and they were cementing their plans. I totally understood her desire to change things in the house, and I also understood the fact that she was hesitant to do it at the same time. She didn't want anyone to think that she wasn't honoring Charlie's memory, but at the same time it was now her home and she had to make it her own. She'd be miserable living there if she didn't. I heard Mom tell Bella that she'd pick her up at eight tomorrow morning and I sighed. I knew that they were planning to spend the night in Seattle to make sure that they had enough time to go to all the stores that they wanted to. Due to the plans that we had both made for this week, we would not be able to see each other again until Thursday. That made me happier than I already was that we were spending today at the meadow.

Fifteen minutes later, after being stopped and dragged into a conversation by Mrs. Webber regarding the baby shower that Mom was throwing Angela next Sunday, Bella and I were on our way back to her house so that we could change our clothes before we took off for my meadow. I may have driven a little bit faster than I normally would in my attempt to get us there. I don't know why since we would still have a hike ahead of us once we got to the place where we had to leave the car behind. I was just eager to be completely alone with her with no chance of anyone or anything interrupting us.

BPOV:

I was thrilled not only to spend the day with Edward but to spend it with him at his meadow. Neither one of us had eaten breakfast so by the time we got to the meadow we were starving. Once we had eaten some of the food and enjoyed the bottle of wine that Edward packed us we ended up lying on the blanket that we had brought with us, holding hands, talking, and enjoying the sun and heat and each other.

This morning, while I was laying out the clothes that I would change into after we got back from church, I had briefly considered wearing my swimsuit under my clothes. I decided against that plan when I remembered Edward telling me that he liked to swim naked when he came here. Far be it for me to do anything that would alter his traditions at his meadow.

When I felt my face was getting hot from the sunshine, I let go of Edward's hand and rolled over on my stomach. I looked over and found that Edward was lying on his side, facing me, watching me. He reached his hand out and started playing with my hair which had fallen out of the ponytail that I had it in and was now blocking my face from his view. I got up on my hands and knees and leaned over to Edward, kissing him briefly on the lips. He grabbed at me as I started to pull away from him but I jumped up laughing, "Enough lying around being lazy. I'm going for a swim."

He sat there staring at me as I start backing away from him taking my shirt off as I walked. He continued to sit there watching me as I slipped my shorts off next. I was left standing there in nothing but my bra and underwear. As soon as I started removing them he was on his feet and coming after me. I laughed again as I ran, barefoot, toward the creek and right into the water. Even though the water gets direct sunlight, I was surprised that the water was actually warm. I had completely prepared myself to hit cold water. As soon as I hit the deepest part of the creek, which came up to my waist, I submerged myself under the water. I came back up a few feet from where I started and look back to where I last saw Edward standing on the bank of the creek, but he's no longer there. Before I can turn around again to look for him he grabbed me from behind.

His hands found my breasts while he simultaneously leaned down and started to kiss my neck. I moaned and leaned back into the hold that he had on me. One of his hands released my breast and moved down to my stomach. He tightened his hold on me, pulling me back against him so that I could feel him pressed up against me. I reached my hand around my back and grabbed onto him and gently stroked him, making him moan this time. He moved his hand further down from my stomach until he was stroking me between my legs. We stood there relishing the feeling of how our hands felt on each other's bodies.

After only a minute or so of standing there, he whispered into my ear, "Let's go back to the blanket." For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to open my mouth and speak my answer to him, so I nodded instead. I released him and taking his hand I led him back to the blanket. I was walking backwards, kissing him every few steps along the way. When we made it to the blanket he wrapped his arms around me, holding onto me as he kissed me and while we lowered ourselves down onto the blanket. I loved the feeling of lying with him, both of us naked and him on top of me.

We let the passion and desire that we had for each other, which had been building up since the night that we met, take us over until there was nothing but kissing, exploring, feeling, and moaning coming from us. When we were both ready, he entered me as we stared into each other eyes. It was a moment that I would never be able to forget. . It felt so right, like he had always belonged with me and I had always belonged here with him.

When we were done, we laid there in each other's arms, just relishing the joy of being with each other in complete silence. I could think of nothing to say and I didn't really think that there was anything to be said at the moment. We had probably scared off any animal that had been unfortunate to be within hearing range of us, but I couldn't find it in me to care at this moment. After lying there for a while, catching our breath and enjoying being in the moment, Edward sat up, suggesting that we actually go swimming to cool off a little. We walked to the creek together this time, hand in hand, and played in the water until we started to exhaust ourselves. I had never been skinny dipping before in my life before today. It was so naughty yet so exhilarating and freeing and I wanted to do it again. I really wanted to do it again with Edward, the skinny dipping and the sex.

We climbed out of the water and got dressed before we returned to our blanket and raided the picnic basket and ate the rest of the food that remained from our lunch. We were both starving from all of the strenuous activities that we'd engaged in this afternoon and practically inhaled it. I was starting to yawn an hour later and we decided that we had better start making our way back to the car before we got too tired and the sun started setting on us.

As we started out of the meadow to return to the trail that would take us back to the car, I turned and looked back at the meadow and wished that we could have stayed there, but the real world was waiting for us and we both had things to do. I still had to pack my overnight bag for my trip to Seattle with Esme tomorrow and Edward had to work in the morning anyway.

"Thank you for bringing me back here," I said to him as I kissed him by the car before I got in, "Any chance we can come back and maybe stay overnight sometime?"

"You mean camp out? Just you and me and one sleeping bag?"

"Exactly like that."

"I think that that can be arranged. We just have to watch for some good weather to do it. And we will do it." I smiled as he walked around the car and climbed in. I sighed as he started the car and drove back to my house.

He sat with me while I packed my bag. I felt a little grungy from all of our activities today so while I took a shower he went downstairs to the kitchen and made us something to eat. We laid together on the couch, watching a little TV, and kissing a lot. Before we knew it the evening news was ending and it was time for him to go home. We both had early mornings and if he stayed with me tonight we would end up staying up most of the night making love again, so I reluctantly let him go. I kind of regretted that it would be so many days before I would be able to see him and touch him again, but I was looking forward to the next date that we had planned. He asked me to join him for dinner at the diner on Thursday night and a movie at his place since I was watching Bree on Wednesday, and he had a meeting with Alice about his school book program that night. I fell asleep thinking about him, how it felt to touch him, how it felt for him to touch me, and wanting to make love to him again.

A/N:

Happy almost Saturday! Thanks to Sweetpea123 for being an amazing beta. I hope that everyone in the path of the blizzard in the US stays safe this weekend. Being a Midwest girl, I feel for you. By this point I am so over winter. I'm ready for Spring to get here. Update in two weeks and reviews will get teasers. Thank you for reading.


	23. Chapter 23

Assumptions Chapter 23

Flowers for a pretty lady

BPOV:

Esme and I had a great time shopping in Seattle. She was a lot of fun to be around and was frank and honest when she saw furniture that she thought was tacky or gaudy. We had a lot of laughs at some of the ugliest pieces of furniture that we'd ever had the misfortune of seeing. She was also a fierce negotiator and got me good deals on everything, plus deals on the delivery fees for the things that we couldn't take with us. Even with the bargains she got me I dropped a lot of money on new furniture, carpet, and accessories. If my new book did well then I was going to hire someone to gut the kitchen and redo the whole thing, including the flooring and cabinets.

We finally got back to Forks and pulled up to my house around midnight on Tuesday. The drive back from Seattle had taken us six hours due to torrential rains and fog that was impairing visibility. The fact that we could barely see five feet in front of the car had us completely terrified and we drove at an absolute crawl all the way back. A couple of times we talked about just pulling over and getting a hotel room but ultimately we decided to just press on. We both wanted to get home. I was texting Edward, Carlisle, and Rose every once in a while to let them know that we were still alright and where we were on our way home. I don't think that I was ever so relieved to be home in my life. Esme had had it with driving by that point and decided to spend the night in Emmett and Rose's guest room. I didn't blame her one bit for that decision. The route back to her house would have her going through some really low lying areas that would make the fog situation a lot worse.

When I woke up on Wednesday, Rose and Emmett came over to help Esme and me unload her SUV before she finally went home. We got everything in the house and stored in the spare bedroom upstairs until I was ready to put things out. That wouldn't be until the new carpets were installed and the furniture was delivered and that wasn't going to be for a couple of weeks yet. I wanted to get the painting done before everything was delivered and we weren't going to be able to do that this weekend. We had Angela's baby shower this Sunday at Esme's house.

Speaking of Angela's shower, after Esme left Rose and Emmett brought over a few of the gifts that people in town had dropped off for her. We'd had the bright idea to have everyone drop off the presents to me this week and I would pack all of them in the car and drive it over to Esme's on the day of the shower. I would drive the car over there and surprise her with it all, that the car and everything inside were her gifts. We hoped that it would soften her to the idea that I was giving them the car. I had my truck now and really had no use for the car anymore.

We were done shortly before lunch time and I was starving so I decided to run and grab some takeout Chinese and surprise Edward with lunch. I walked into the shop to find him talking to a customer. He looked up as he heard the door and smiled at me before returning his attention to the elderly lady who was going on and on about a book that she wanted that was apparently out of print and hard to find. Edward was promising her that he would call all of his contacts and do everything he could to try to locate a copy. She seemed happy with his promise of a good effort and left the shop.

He walked over to me where I was now standing behind the counter and kissed me, "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I thought it would be nice to have lunch together since we're both busy tonight."

He kissed me again, "That does sound nice." He sat down in the chair next to me and I handed him the container that held his food before sitting down with mine. After we were done eating I helped him stock a new shipment of books that just came in. By the time that we finished moving things around to fit the new books I had been there for just over three hours and I needed to get back home to get ready to babysit Bree.

I walked across the street to Rose and Emmett's just before five; Rose had told me that she had bought some frozen pizza that Bree loved for us to have for dinner. I asked Bree what she wanted to do tonight when I saw her this morning; all she wanted was to watch her favorite movie and play with the new paper dolls that Emmett had bought her. That sounded like fun to me. Little did I know that her favorite movie was SpongeBob. That stupid sponge's obnoxious voice always gave me a headache, but I would end a night of watching it to keep Bree happy.

We had just finished the first viewing of the movie and were coming back downstairs from getting Bree into her pajamas and brushing her teeth when there was a knock on the door. I looked out the window and smiled when I saw Edward standing there with something in his hands. I let Bree go ahead and open the door to let him in. He stepped in and squatted down in front of his niece and handed her a bouquet of daisies. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before standing back up and turning to me. He handed me a bouquet of tulips and gave me a kiss on the lips.

"What are you doing here," I asked with a laugh.

"Alice and I finished early so I thought I pay two of the most beautiful girls in Forks a visit."

"Uncle Edward, we're gonna watch SpongeBob again. Come on!"

"Bree, we need to put our flowers in water first so they don't dry out." She ran off to the kitchen while Edward and I walked behind her, hand in hand. "Thanks for the flowers, Edward, but you really didn't have to."

"What kind of gentlemen would I be if I showed up empty handed? My mother raised me better than that," he teased. Then he leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Besides, I might have had an ulterior motive for coming over tonight."

EPOV:

I hated that Bella was out of town again, even if it was only for a couple of days and she was only in Seattle with Mom. Dad was having his own separation issues with Mom being away. He and I ended up eating dinner together at the diner on Monday night and Tuesday we ordered pizza in and had dinner at my apartment while watching the Mariner's game. It wasn't too far into the game that Bella started texting me that they were on their way home but extremely dense fog was making them go slow. Mom was driving so Bella was the one keeping us informed of their very slow progress home. Dad went home around ten to try to get some paperwork done while he waited for mom to get home. The last that I had heard from them they were just on the other side of Port Angeles. Every time that I heard from her and knew that they were safe I could relax a little more and breathe a little easier.

I followed Bella and Bree to the kitchen and watched as she helped Bree put her flowers in a vase before finding one to use for her own flowers. Bree struggled to carry her vase of flowers to the living room, we both offered to carry them for her, but she refused to let us. She put them down on the coffee table and I had to jump forward to catch it before it tipped and spilled all over.

I sat down on the couch next to Bella and Bree climbed up on my lap and cuddled into me. We were only about halfway through the movie when I realized that Bree had fallen asleep on us. I tried to stand up without waking her too much. She stirred and held onto my shirt a little tighter, "my flowers," she mumbled. I looked back at Bella who was now standing holding Bree's flowers, and followed me up to Bree's room.

We got my niece tucked away into her bed and returned to the living room. Bella immediately turned off that annoying movie that Bree loved for some reason. We returned to where we had been sitting on the couch, only now we were sitting closer to each other. Bella shifted until she was practically sitting in my lap. She grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels until she found a cooking show to watch, "Ohhh. I love Chef Morimoto!"

We sat watching for a minute, it was a crazy show where two chefs were competing with each other. "Ok. What is a secret ingredient and what is a kitchen stadium?"

"Ok. Each show the chairman chooses one ingredient that is the 'secret ingredient' and neither chef will know what it is beforehand but it has to feature in each of the five dishes they are required to make. Kitchen stadium is the arena. You don't always see it but there is stadium seating above the chefs for spectators to watch the competition."

I nodded and we watched the show in relative silence. I guess today's secret ingredient was some kind of fish. Bella groaned when one chefs went for the ice cream machine.

"You have a problem with ice cream?" I asked with a smile.

"I have a problem with them and ice cream after one chef had the nerve to make trout ice cream."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Unfortunately, I'm not. There was also one chef that made blood ice cream."

"That is just gross."

"Yeah, there are many times that I am very, very thankful that I am not a judge. The original show had its moments too but it was a very different culture."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it started in Japan and was restarted here in America a few years ago." We continued watching the cooking show, thankfully the chef only made some lemon sorbet.

My brother and Rose got home around eleven. They didn't seem too surprised to find me at their house. Bella and I said our goodbyes to them and quickly made our way across the street to her house to enjoy a glass of wine and hopefully a little play time of our own.

As soon as we got in the door I grabbed her, spun her around, and pushed her against the door. "You know, I really don't want that glass of wine," I whispered as I kissed her neck.

"You know I don't either," she moaned as she put her arms around my neck, pushing my face more firmly into her neck, making me laugh and her shudder.

I pulled back, "then why are we wasting our time down here?" I grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind me as we made our way to her room. I had been thinking about this since Bella was at my store this afternoon. We were putting books away and she bent over to grab some more out the box, flashing her ass at me. If we hadn't been in the middle of my store on Main Street with a store front made almost entirely out of glass, then I would have gone with my first instinct which was tackling her to the ground and ripping off her clothes. But I wasn't a cave man and I wasn't going to disrespect her like that.

I grabbed her and kissed her until Bella pulled away from me, she started to take her shirt off as she back up towards the bed with a smile on her face. I stalked toward her, taking my shirt off as well. I caught up to her as she reached the bed. I wrapped my arm around her waist and went back to kissing her neck. I felt her hands grab the button of my jeans and within seconds she had them open and was pushing them down my legs.

I grabbed her butt and lifted her up a little, just enough to flip her back onto the bed. I took her by surprise and she squealed as she bounced a little. I finished taking my pants off then leaned forward and pulled hers off. We spent the next two hours making love to each other until we both fell asleep.

I was woken the next morning by the sound of my phone ringing. It took a second for me to realize where I was and crawl out of bed. I dug my phone out of the pocket of my jeans on the floor and groaned when I realized who it was.

"Why are you calling so early, Tanya? Is there something wrong with Abby?"

"She's fine, but we really need to talk."

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Dear God. I am my son's rehearsal. He and several other teenage boys just came running around the corner at full speed and converged on the table of cookies like they hadn't been fed in a week. I know my son had breakfast today. If you haven't already seen it, I've posted an outtake in a separate story from this. There will be a few random outtakes that I have in mind, but there won't be too many. This first one I wrote for Sweetpea123 for her birthday. She is so wonderful to go through these chapters and clean them up for me before I post them and I am glad to call her my friend. The next update will be in two weeks. See you then!


	24. Chapter 24

Assumptions Chapter 24

The Ex-factor

EPOV:

A phone call from my ex-wife was the last thing that I needed or wanted to wake up to this morning. Or any morning. Waking up and making love to Bella again before I had to go to work, that is what I had intended to happen. But we don't always get what we want in life.

"Tanya, let me call you back in about an hour when I'm home and awake." And I have some clothes on, I added in my mind.

"What do you mean you're not at home? Where are you?"

"Not that it's your business, but I spent the night at my girlfriend's house."

"Oh yes, that's right, you're dating Charlie's daughter. You told me that." She sounded flustered now herself. "Ok. Call my cell because I have to go to work." I ended the call and looked down to see Bella watching me. I leaned down and kissed her.

"What do you think that she wants?" Bella asked.

"I have no idea, but I don't want to deal with her until I've at least had a cup of coffee." She nodded and kissed me again.

"Well, let me go make you that cup of coffee while you find all of your clothes." She laughed as she cheated and grabbed a robe out of her closet and headed downstairs.

By the time I finally made it home I had just enough time to grab a quick shower and get into some clean clothes before I had to head downstairs to open the store. I grabbed my cell phone and started downstairs. I was pleasantly surprised to see a text from Bella, "I think we should stay at your place on work nights to save you time." I smiled at that thought. I sent back a reply to her immediately, "Be here at 5 with an overnight bag and I'll cook you dinner."

I walked into the shop and unlocked the door. I decided that I had put off the call to Tanya long enough.

"It's about time you called me back." No hello. No "how are you or how's your family". I really wasn't in the mood to deal with Tanya and her selfishness today.

"So if Abby is fine, what was so important that you had to call me at the crack of dawn?"

"I've got good news. I made detective!" She sounded excited but she had to be fucking kidding me. That is what she woke me up about?

"Congratulations. But I don't see what was so urgent about that that you had to wake me up about it."

"Well, it does create a big problem for me. I'm going to have to be available 24/7, and Demetri moved out a month ago so I can't leave her with him if I'm called out in the middle of the night. Not that he'd have been willing to keep her during the day either. Anyway, I promised my captain that I'd have something figured out about what to do with Abby by this weekend. That is what I needed to talk to you about. I just can't do this anymore. I can't be a mom and have my career. It's just too hard. I was thinking that Abby could live with you. You have an easy job and your Mom and Rose don't work, so they don't have anything better to do with their days than watch Abby for you. You could keep her and I could have my career and maybe get Demetri to come back to me."

My head was spinning with everything that she'd blurted out. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was she really willing to send our daughter away for the sake of her career and relationship? I really didn't give a shit about her personal life anymore. How had I never seen how self-centered she was? It wasn't until she decided to move to New York, knowing that she was taking my daughter with her, but I really got how self-absorbed she was when she had me bring Abby home right after she was born. She literally spent the first six months of her life with me, not her mother. I could hardly believe that it was so easy for her to be apart from Abby. Rose had issues leaving Bree, even with Emmett, for the first year of her life. But the most important thing to me at the moment was that she was giving me my daughter. "This weekend, Tanya? It's already Thursday!" Leave it to Tanya to not think of anyone but herself. "I'll book a flight out to New York. I'll call you back to tell you when I'll be there. You just start packing anything you want to send with her. I can't stay in New York long. I just got back from Phoenix and I can't ask Mom and Rose to watch the shop too much more than they have lately."

"What were you doing in Phoenix?"

"That's my business Tanya. I don't answer to you. I'll text you my flight info. Have her ready to go." And I hung up on her.

I called my Mom and Rose and we decided that we should have a family dinner to plan for Abby's homecoming. Then I tried to call Bella but it went straight to voicemail, so I left a message about the change of plans for dinner but told her that I still wanted her to stay with me tonight.

I started to search for flights but got interrupted by customers and never got a chance to get back to it. Before I knew it, it was almost five and I hadn't even had time for lunch. I was concerned about how I was going to be able to be a single dad and take care of a baby with the shop.

I went ahead and locked up the shop exactly at five and took off for Mom and Dad's. Rose and Emmett's cars were in the drive but Bella's wasn't so I was surprised to find her in the kitchen with Mom, helping her to prepare dinner. I walked in and kissed both of them on the cheek. "Anything I can do to help?"

"No, we're done. Go get everyone from the den and we'll take the food to the table."

We started our discussion about Abby coming home as soon as we were seated at the table. One of the biggest concerns was what I was going to do with her while I was working. It was days like today that proved that I couldn't care for a baby AND take care of my customers at the same time. I was going to have to find someone to watch her during the day.

"I'd be thrilled to keep her for you Edward, but we'd have to find alternate arrangements when I have to leave to go on my book tour."

"I could keep her during those days."

"And I could take her when Mom has her charity meetings and such. We're all here for you, Edward" Rose piped in. "But I have to ask. Do you really think it's appropriate or fair to keep working six days a week? I know that Bella volunteered to watch Abby for you but she's your girlfriend, not your nanny, and she has a job and a life too. I mean besides the book tour, eventually she'll need to sit down and write her next book. You need to find a way to hire a part-time employee so you are not working all the time." Rose was right. I couldn't rely on Bella to watch Abby six days a week every week. I looked over at Bella and the look on her face said that she hadn't thought about that either.

"Well, we can figure that out later," Dad cut in, "First things first. We need to get Abby home. When is your flight to New York?"

"Shit. I started looking for one and got busy with customers. I never got back to it." Dad got up and walked out of the room. Mom grabbed the pitcher of lemonade off the table and started to refill everyone's glasses. She was just sitting back down when Dad returned with his laptop. He pulled up some websites to search flights and we started to look for the best one.

"Edward, I want to go with you, if you want me too, that is. I need to meet with my editor anyway. This will give me that opportunity, and I really don't want you to have to go alone."

I turned to Bella, "I'd love for you to come with me." By the end of the night and a lot of discussions and a few phone calls, Bella and I had our flights booked. We would leave tomorrow morning to catch our flights that would leave in the early afternoon. I was going along with her for her meeting with her editor for breakfast in the morning and then we would go straight to Tanya's together to pick up Abby and her stuff. Tanya and I agreed that we'd call our lawyers on Monday and get the custody arrangement legally changed, but I couldn't stick around New York and wait to deal with that shit. We would fly back home on Sunday and I just prayed that we would make it back in time for Angela's shower.

"Just as long as you're back on Tuesday to vote for me," Emmett demanded as he prepared to leave for work. I'd almost forgotten about the special election. I would be here to vote for my brother and support him even if Bella and I had to drive back. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

BPOV:

I couldn't believe it when Edward called and told me that Tanya was so quick to give up her infant daughter in favor of her career. I was happy for Edward, though. He hated being apart from Abby. I had already decided that I was going to volunteer to watch her while he was working before I even walked out of the house to go to Esme's for dinner. Rose had called me and asked if I wanted to ride with her since Emmett was going to drive himself and then go straight into work. But as I sat at Esme's table while we discussed Edward's work schedule, I realized that I really hadn't thought through what a huge commitment I was volunteering for. I didn't mind. I would do just about anything for Edward.

We left shortly after Emmett did to head back to Edward's. "Why don't you take my car in the morning when you head home to pack?" He suggested, "That way I can stay here and do my own packing since we have to leave so early in the morning."

"Are you ok with keeping the store closed tomorrow?"

"I don't have much of a choice. I hate to admit it, but Rose is right and I need to hire someone to help out at the store. I can't do it on my own anymore. I think it was coming to this even without Abby in the equation."

"Can you afford it?"

"I don't know. I'll look at everything when we get back. Tonight I just want to spend making love to you."

"Now that is a plan that I can get behind." I laughed as I moved to straddle his lap.

He slowly undressed me before undressing himself and we made love on the couch before moving to his bed and making love there; two more times before we finally fell asleep in each other's arms. In between, while we rested and caught our breath, we talked about what Abby being here would mean to us. Life would be different, that was for sure. Like Rose and Emmett, we'd have to find a sitter before we could go out on a date by ourselves, so I figured those were going to be few and far between now. We would find a balance, of that I was absolutely sure.

Before we knew it, it was time to get up and get packing to go. Despite the fact that we were in Forks, Edward insisted on walking me out to his car since it was still dark out. I told him that he was being ridiculous but he wouldn't budge. I promised that I would be back in an hour and drove off home.

I pulled into my driveway to find Rose sitting on my porch waiting for me, "I came to promise that I'd check on Princess for you and we'd feed her while you were gone." Shit. I totally forgot about my cat last night when I decided to run off to New York. It wasn't like a cat couldn't be left alone for a few days, but I was thankful that Rose was willing to look after her. "I'll also grab your mail for you."

"Here, let me give you my key," I said moving to take the key off my ring.

"Oh. I still have the spare that Charlie gave me for emergency purposes." I looked up at her, "I'm so sorry. I totally spaced off that I even had it. I should have given it back to you."

"That's ok. Keep it, for emergencies and pet sitting. I may volunteer you in the future, as well."

Rose nodded. "Do you need some company while you pack?"

"I'd love some company. Come on." I wasn't packing more than a duffle bag and a cosmetic bag since we were only going to be gone for a couple of days. Rose sat down on the bed while I started pulling clothes out of the closet and throwing them down next to her.

"I'll fold and pack. You go take a shower." I smiled and ran off to the bathroom.

When I got back to Edward's he was already outside putting his bags in Esme's trunk. I parked in the spot Edward always parked his car in. He was already running up to me by the time that I got the car turned off and was stepping out.

"I missed you," he said leaning down and kissing me.

"I've only been gone for forty five minutes. I'm back early, thanks to Rose," I said with a laugh.

He grabbed my two bags out of the back of the car and we walked back to where Esme and Carlisle were parked and waiting for us. As soon as we got our bags in the car we hit the road. It was already just after seven and we had a long drive to Seattle ahead of us. We ran through McDonald's to grab some food and coffee that we could eat on the way.

Edward was nervous and quiet during the four hour drive to Seattle, but he kept my hand gripped tightly in his the whole time. Esme pulled up to the terminal drop off and she and Carlisle got out with us. While Carlisle and Edward got our bags out of the trunk Esme grabbed me into a tight hug, thanking me for going with Edward. Then she moved to Edward to hug him goodbye, and Carlisle pulled me into a hug. He pulled back from me and smiled, put my duffle bag on my shoulder and said, "Go bring my granddaughter home to us." Edward and I waved as we turned and walked into the airport.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! It's been a busy week of music engagements but I managed to the next chapter written. There were a few moments when I was doubtful. Ok. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta and friend. I have to apologize to several of you that reviewed. Some of you got a teaser that said it was for chapter 25, well, I screwed up. It was the teaser for this chapter as you know now that you've read the chapter. It was my mistake and I apologize. Reviews will get a teaser. I think that is all this time. I am off to see Oz while my Son sees 21 & over, we have to support the twilight actors. Even the ones that just played the humans. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks!


	25. Chapter 25

Assumptions Chapter 25

New York

BPOV:

After all the time zone issues, layovers, and delays, Edward and I ended up spending all day in various airports. We were so tired and hungry by the time we got to the hotel that all Edward and I really just wanted was a hot shower and nice warm bed. But food had to come first. After we checked into our hotel we asked for directions to the nearest diner. I was craving a big greasy burger and cheese fries. And a large chocolate malt. The desk clerk said she knew exactly where to send us.

"I'm going to have to remember this place for the next time that I come to New York." I said, leaning back in my seat and groaning. I was stuffed to the point that I was tempted to undo the button on my jeans. I would have, too, if we hadn't been in public.

"Do you come here often?"

"You do know that I'm already going home with you tonight. So there's no need to use cheesy pickup lines to get me into your bed." I said with a smirk.

"Ha, ha," he said throwing a French fry at me. "Seriously though, how often do you have to come to New York?"

"Occassionally. Not too often. I have to meet with my editor, Kate, and the rest of my team."

"You have a team?"

"Well, they're not 'mine' mine. Just people that work at the publishing house that edit, besides Kate, and watch for continuity, set up the press releases and book tours, stuff like that."

Once we were back at the hotel, Edward called Tanya while I started the water running for us to share a bath. He told her that we had a breakfast meeting then we would come straight to her apartment to pick up Abby. Tanya was agreeable to our plans. Personally, I thought she was a little too agreeable. But I really didn't know the woman other than from what everyone else had told me.

The hot water felt amazing on the tight muscles in my back. So did Edward's hands as they kneaded the tension out of them. Once he realized that I was totally relaxed his hands wandered to my front and started massaging my breasts. We didn't stay in the tub long after that. I was glad that we were already naked, it saved us some time.

Edward fell asleep practically as soon as we were done. "So much for cuddling," I said to myself before I got up and grabbed my nightgown that I'd set out on the chair. I adjusted the temperature in the room to keep it from getting too cold in here overnight and made sure that the alarm on my Ipod was set for the morning before crawling back into bed.

I was tired to the point that I knew that I wasn't going to be able to get to sleep anytime soon, so I got back up and grabbed a notepad out of the desk. I found an old movie on TV and turned the volume down so it wouldn't wake Edward and started making notes for the morning. I didn't get far with the notes before I got hit with a scene that just had to be written. I ended up filling up the whole note pad with the scene and a couple more that came to me while I was writing. I didn't know if I'd put them in my next book or ever use them at all, but they had to be written. The next thing I knew, I woke up to Edward shaking me. I opened my eyes and found him standing over me, completely dressed and holding a cup of coffee out to me.

"You were sleeping so soundly I didn't have the heart to wake you before you absolutely needed to be up. How late were you up till?"

"No idea. I got inspired."

"I saw that. I didn't read it though. I would never do that. Not unless you told me that I could."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. I don't think those notes are ready to be shared." He handed me my coffee before sitting in the chair in the corner. I looked over and saw that he had his own cup of coffee and the remote and was flipping through the channels, stopping when he found the news.

We drank our coffee in silence. I was half listening to the news and half lost in my own head. Today was going to change our lives. I had never really had a child in my life before and I had obviously never dated anyone with a kid. And not just a kid, Abby was less than a year old and I had opened my mouth and volunteered to be responsible for her while Edward was working. I didn't know much about babies, but something told me I was in for one hell of a crash course in infant care.

Rose had brought up the fact that my house really wasn't prepared to have a baby in it. She asked me where Abby was supposed to sleep when she was at my place. I had no idea. I feebly suggested one of those portable thingy's. Rose rolled her eyes at me and told me that she'd have Emmett bring Bree's old crib over and set it up in the spare room while we were gone. She cited the need for Abby to have a decent bed for the evenings that Edward stayed the night at my place.

That got me thinking about a lot of things. Was it alright for him to still spend the night with me, or me with them, at his place? Would he still want to? Then I thought about turning the spare room in my house into a room for Abby but couldn't make myself actually decide to do it. I was afraid that Edward wouldn't want me to. That was something that he and I were going to have to sit down and discuss. There really hadn't been much time to talk about anything. This was all happening so fast.

I sighed, drained the last of my coffee, and got up to get dressed. I was by no means shy at this point with Edward and stripped off my nightgown and walked across the room to my suitcase completely naked. I grabbed my clothes out of my bag and turned to walk back to the bed when I noticed that Edward was no longer watching the news. He was watching me with his coffee cup inches from his mouth. I laughed and walked over to him and kissed him before finally getting my clothes on. I could have sworn that I heard him call me a tease but he never took his eyes off of me after that.

The meeting took a little longer than I had expected it too. Kate didn't come alone. She brought Riley with her. He was trying to set up the book tour but they needed my input. Kate told me that they wanted a publishing date around Thanksgiving, that way people could market it as the perfect Christmas present. That also meant that I would be traveling around Christmas for the book tour. Edward's bookstore would also be busy and I was going to have to leave him when he needed me the most. I promised that I would do two and half weeks as close to Thanksgiving as they could plan it but wanted to be home as Christmas neared. We parted with a promise that they would do everything they could in regards to the schedule, and then Edward and I were free to go get Abby.

We hailed a cab to take us to Tanya's apartment and I was so nervous at the idea of meeting her. I had never been in a situation like this. What if she decided to play the jealous ex-wife and cause trouble for me and Edward? It turned out that I didn't need to worry about Tanya at all.

The only time that Edward let go of my hand once we were in the building was to knock on the door. We only had to wait a couple of minutes for someone to open the door. I was a little confused when I looked at the woman. I was told that Tanya was a pale strawberry blonde. This woman was older and the darker tone of her skin made it plainly clear that this woman had never been a natural blonde. I turned to Edward who looked just as confused.

"You must be Edward and Bella. Tanya told me you were coming to get little Abby. I'm Zafrina," she said with a heavy Spanish accent, before moving aside to let us in. That is when it hit me. This woman was the baby sitter. Tanya wasn't even here. She didn't even bother to stay and spend the last few minutes she could with her baby before sending her across the country to live with her father. I was fuming. What the hell kind of woman was this that it was so easy for her to throw away her child like that? Did she leave Abby with sitters a lot? I looked back at Edward and from the look on his face I could tell that he was thinking the same things I was.

EPOV:

I was dumbfounded and I was pissed. I couldn't believe that Tanya didn't wait for us to show up. When I brought Abby back I had to force myself to walk out the door. I hated the idea of missing a mere second of her life. "When did Tanya leave?" I asked Zafrina.

"She left last night around five. She told me that you'd be here this morning to pick the little angel up."

"I talked to her last night. She didn't tell me that she'd been called into work."

"Oh, she's not working. She is at that horrid Demitri's place. He's not a nice man."

"He didn't hurt Abby, did he?" Bella broke in and asked before I could.

"No. He ignored her. He's just completely in love with himself and money, and nothing or no one else. But Tanya won't listen to reason."

"How do you know Tanya?" I asked her.

"I own the building. My husband and I bought it many years ago. He's with God now. Lord rest his soul. But I couldn't bear to part with it even if our children keep telling me I'm too old for the stress."

Zafrina seemed like a nice woman, I thought as I followed her into the living room of the apartment, I was just furious to find that Tanya had been gone since last night. She should have told me that she had left Abby with a sitter; I would have come straight here to get her. I wouldn't have waited until now. Bella would have been fine going to her meeting on her own. I walked to where Abby was standing in her playpen and picked her up and held her to me. I let the beautiful scent of her baby soap calm me down. I had been worried that she would be too young to be able to remember who I was but I believed that a baby needed her mother.

"I have to tell you that I am glad that she is going to live with you," Zafrina said, "Tanya is not ready to be a mother."

"Did she leave her with you often?" I asked.

"With me and various other neighbors. That baby needs stability." Thinking back to the day that I brought Abby back to New York, I realized that Tanya never bothered with Abby while I was there that day. She disappeared into her bedroom and left us alone for hours. She only came back out when I knocked on the bedroom door and told her that I had to go before I missed my plane. At the time I thought that she was just giving me some space to say goodbye to Abby, but now I was more inclined to think that she just didn't want to be bothered with her and that made me even angrier.

"I agree. I assure you that I have no intention of leaving her all the time like Tanya apparently did. I had absolutely no idea she was doing that. I do have to work but Bella is going to keep her, and when she can't it will be my mom or sister-in-law." I was trying to remain as calm as I could. I didn't want to upset Abby or snap at Zafrina, she had taken good care of my daughter.

"And so it won't be often that I won't be there for her. I'm an author so I work from home and Edward's brother and sister-in-law live across the street from me so she'll have her cousin to play with as she grows." I heard Bella telling Zafrina.

"That is wonderful but I am not here to judge you. I just hate seeing a beautiful baby like her be treated like she doesn't matter."

I was getting angrier by the second, "I'm sorry. I had no idea that she was leaving Abby like that." I repeated. "I…I…should have known. She let me take her as a newborn. She insisted. Rose wouldn't let Bree out of her sight for the first year and a half of her life, even if it was Emmett that wanted to take her. I should have seen that there was something really wrong with that."

"We should get going and let you get home. I'm sure that you have things to do." Bella and I gathered the bags that Zafrina pointed out to us and we were on our way.

I was going to make sure that I got full custody of Abby. I wasn't an unreasonable man to believe that a parent can't leave their child to go out, but Zafrina basically told us that Abby was with strangers more than with Tanya. That Tanya didn't seem to want to be bothered with her own daughter.

After dropping off Abby's bags at the hotel, we went shopping for a few things that Tanya didn't seem to have for Abby. Like a car seat. Neither Bella and I could figure that one out, how did she not own a car seat. As a mother and a cop she should have known better.

We found this great baby store and I laughed as Bella went a little crazy buying outfits and toys for Abby.

"Bella, we are flying home and we're only allowed so much luggage before they start charging us."

Bella rolled her eyes and kept shopping. The clerk walked up to me and told me that they'd ship whatever we wanted anywhere in the continental US free of charge with a purchase over $100. That was a relief because Bella's shopping habit would have cost us an arm and a leg on the plane.

I finally got Bella out of the store without sending either of us into bankruptcy and back to the hotel. She had most of her purchases shipped except for a few items. I walked over to the clothes that were lying on the bed and picked up one of the outfits. It was a 0-3 month size. "This is too small for Abby."

"That's because it's not for Abby. It's for Jessica Lynn." I smiled. Angela was going to love the outfit, and ironically it actually looked like something that the original Jessica would have worn. I kissed Bella on the cheek and walked over to the chair and sat down. Abby was asleep in the crib we'd asked the hotel to bring up while we were gone today. I was eager to take Abby home with us to Forks, where she would always belong and feel loved and wanted.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! I'm posting this even though I'm not quite down with Chapter 26. It's a tad over half way there and should be done tomorrow. At least I hope that it will. Thank you to Sweetpea123 who is an amazing beta and friend. I was looking at my plans for this story and I am thinking that there will probably be about 4 or 5 chapters left. I do have another story that I am developing in my head. Can we say Reverend-ward. I'm eager to get it started but can't until my two WIP's can be marked complete. See you in two weeks and Happy Easter for those that celebrate.


	26. Chapter 26

Assumptions Chapter 26

Rush

BPOV:

Flying these days was never easy but flying with a baby was damn near impossible. And very, very stressful. By the time we made it to Seattle we were exhausted and Abby was wide awake, having spent most of our two flights fast asleep. I worried that Edward was never going to be able to get her to sleep tonight.

As we approached the baggage pick up we found Emmett waiting for us. Emmett grabbed Abby out of my arms the second that we got to him, "It's my turn to play the great uncle that spoils his niece rotten and fills her with junk food before sending her back home!"

"Hah! You've always been a lot worse than me about that stuff. How many times has Rose yelled at you because you fed Bree something sugary and got her all hyper at bedtime?"

"I plead the fifth on that one," Emmett said, with a boisterous laugh.

Emmett finally handed her back to me when our bags arrived so he could help Edward lug them out to his car. And by his car, I do mean his police cruiser. I was suddenly fourteen again and being picked up at the airport by my dad.

The drive from Seattle to Forks felt like it was taking forever. Emmett wouldn't shut up. I was trying not to be cranky but I didn't get much sleep last night because Edward didn't sleep last night. He stayed angry over what Tanya had been doing and tossed and turned for a couple of hours before finally getting up and going over to what I had taken to calling 'his chair' and turned on the TV. I gave up sleeping at that point too and rolled over to face him. I laid there for a long time just watching him stare at the TV without actually paying attention to what was playing. I didn't think that he realized that I was awake until he started talking to me.

"I feel like a failure as her father."

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, well, I didn't do anything right either. I brought her back and left her here only to be dumped off on strangers."

I got up and walked over to him and sat down on his lap, "Did you know that Tanya was doing that?"

"No. But I should have realized it. There were times that I'd call and she would be with a sitter.

"Edward. You thought she was at work. A lot of parents have to work and leave their kids with a sitter. Most don't leave their children as much as Tanya was apparently leaving Abby and don't get me started on how I just can't comprehend how any parent can their child away in favor of a promotion and a boyfriend, but I am kind of glad that she did. It means that Abby will be with us where she will be loved and cared for all the time."

"I know you're right. I just keep thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened to her. One of those people could have just taken off with her and we would have never seen her again."

I wrapped my arms around him and just held him since I had no response to that. It was true, and a real possibility since it was doubtful that Tanya was doing any kind of background check on the people that she left her daughter with. It was shocking that this behavior was coming from a cop.

Emmett dropped me off before taking Edward back to his apartment. Edward told me that he was going to change his clothes and then Abby then he would meet me at his parent's house. I ran into the house, grabbing a dress out of my closet and then running into the bathroom to freshen up. I dressed, put on some makeup, and ran a brush through my hair and was out of the house within twenty minutes.

I did end up beating Edward to the party. I let myself into the house and found Esme in the kitchen. She ran to me the second she saw me and grabbed me into a hug, "Oh darling, welcome home. I was surprised that you two didn't call last night. Did Tanya give you any trouble?"

Esme released me and returned to the kitchen where she was putting the final touches on a meat tray. "Um…no… um…we didn't actually see her."

Esme spun back around to face me, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I think we should wait until Edward is here and after the party to talk about this." I pleaded with her.

"It's going to piss me off, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Bella's right, we should talk about it later." I smiled and turned to see Edward and Abby standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Esme wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to pull her granddaughter out of Edward's arms. She did give him a kiss on the cheek as she absconded with his child, so at least there was that. I walked over to the counter and continued to work where Esme left off. I finished the tray and turned back to see Edward and Esme in a quiet discussion about something. I waited for a minute, not wanting to intrude on them before they were done and turned back to me.

"Thank you so much Bella, you are such a dear," she said to me while handing Abby back to Edward. "You two go on outside and say hello to everyone and I will bring out a fresh pitcher of lemonade."

Edward took my hand with his free hand as soon as we were outside and led us over to where everyone was sitting and talking. Most of the people there were surprised to see Edward carrying his daughter. Forks would always be Forks and everyone knew the custody arrangement that had existed between Edward and his ex-wife. So, naturally, I had figured that everyone would have known why he and I had taken off to New York.

Rose stood up and came over to me and grabbed me into a hug. "We didn't tell anyone that we didn't trust to keep it to themselves. Esme was afraid of jinxing it." I laughed but completely understood. That was why I never typed the title of my book or even acknowledged it until I was ready to send it to Kate.

I stepped back from Rose and walked around to where Angela was sitting. I leaned down and gave her a hug from where she was relaxing. Michael had told Edward days ago that Angela was getting close and I did hope that it would be soon for her sake because she looked miserable, and the way that she kept shifting around in her chair showed just how uncomfortable she was.

I took the empty chair in-between Angela and Rose and they both wanted to know if our trip to New York went well, but luckily neither of them pressed me for many details. I changed the subject by asking where Emmett was.

"Oh, one of his deputies is sick so he's filling in. He told them that he'd be there as soon as he got back from picking you guys up in Seattle."

"Now, I feel bad that he had to drive all that way when he had to go to work after."

"Don't worry about it, he'll be fine. He didn't get the call until after he'd left to get you, anyway, or we'd have sent Carlisle to get you." I still felt bad about it, but I let it drop as Esme and Carlisle walked out of the house carrying some trays of food.

EPOV:

As soon as I got into my apartment I changed Abby and got her settled on my bedroom floor with a toy while I changed my clothes. Then I sat down on my bed and called a number that I still knew by heart. I called my lawyer, Jason, and asked him if we could meet sometime tomorrow. I told him a little about what was up, and he told me that he would stop by on his way to his office in the morning. I sighed as I hung up the phone. Jason was a good guy and a favorite attorney of most of Forks. He was also the lawyer that had handled Charlie's will and was still putting the final touches on transferring Charlie's estate to Bella.

I was still sitting there on my bed, thinking and brooding (as my mother would call it), when Abby crawled to me and used my knees to pull herself up so that she was standing. I couldn't believe that she was already nine months old. I was glad that I'd had her for the first six months of her life but I now regretted handing her over to Tanya for the last three. She knew that I loved Abby and I would have gladly kept her. I just didn't understand why she kept her if she didn't want her. I picked Abby up and pulled her into a tight hug. I had to stop this train of thought or I wasn't going to make it to the baby shower. I had never been to a baby shower before Abby, but Mom and Rose threw me one. I was embarrassed as hell at first but by the end I was glad that they did, because I ended up getting so many great things that I hadn't even considered that I'd need with a baby. I knew that Mom and Bella had decided to make this one coed as well to include Michael. I thought it was a good idea.

I grabbed Abby's stuff and carried her down to where I had my car parked down the street from my shop. I was going to have to find somewhere closer to park. We'd had a nice summer this year with a lot more sunny days than we were used to, but it did rain a lot and we did get ice and snow in the winter. I didn't want to have to carry her too far in bad weather and slip and have her get hurt or get sick from the damp weather.

I walked into my parent's house and smiled at the sight before me. I loved that Bella was so close to my family. I almost laughed when Mom snatched Abby from my arms. Emmett did it too, and I was sure that the same thing was going to happen the second that I saw Dad and Rose. None of them were happy when I had to take Abby back to New York. In fact, Charlie even asked me if I was sure that I didn't want to sue for custody. I didn't then, but I did consider it. I was so terrified of losing my daughter like Charlie lost Bella, but ultimately I believed that Abby needed to be with Tanya too, and the even split was the right thing to do. I never dreamed that I would so wrong about that.

I told Mom that we would discuss New York later. After Bella walked away she asked if we were ok, if we'd had a fight. I told her that we hadn't but she wasn't convinced. She said that we were both so tense that there was obviously something bothering us and if I didn't want to talk she wouldn't push me, but she was there for me if I changed my mind. Then she sent Bella and me out to the party.

I was able to put everything aside and relax for the rest of the party. As I sat talking to Michael and Dad I turned to see Bella holding Abby. She had fallen asleep in Bella's arms. Funny, in the time that I had known Bella I had never even considered her in a maternal role, but she looked so natural sitting there with Abby in her arms.

When lunch was over we had decided it was time to present Michael and Angela with their presents. We walked them around the side of the house and surprised them with the car that was packed tight with gifts. Just as I knew they would, they tried to argue with Bella handing them over the car, but Bella stood firm. She just didn't need it anymore because she had the truck that Charlie bought for her and they needed a safe and reliable vehicle for the baby. After quite a bit of discussion, and tears from Angela, Bella finally managed to hand the title and keys over to Michael. Angela was walking around the car peeking in the windows. Mrs. Newton, Mrs. Webber, and Bella walked over to her and opened the back door and started pointing things out to her. Michael walked over to join them when Bella called to him to bring the keys so she could open the trunk. The trunk had an assortment of clothes and packages of diapers and wipes in it. Angela was straight out bawling as she sorted through the clothes and toys and everything that she had registered for, and many things that she hadn't.

Dad and I and few of the other men that were here wandered back into the backyard while Angela and Michael sorted through as much of the gifts as they could without actually unpacking the car. It was almost an hour later when everyone was finally back in the backyard and Mom carried out the cake. Abby was awake again and back with me. I was feeding her some of my ice cream and she was absolutely loving it. I was a little afraid to give her some of the cake. I was going to have to ask Mom about what foods were appropriate for a baby her age and what I should avoid for a while yet. I didn't know a whole lot about babies.

I was completely exhausted by the time the last guest left the party and Mom walked out and finally sat down. I took a deep breath and told them that Tanya had been leaving Abby with a series of sitters and rarely caring for her herself. I told them how we'd found her with a neighbor who'd told me that there were times that she'd have Abby for days, and Tanya would only show up at the house if she knew that I was going to be calling to talk to Abby. Mom and Rose were out for blood by the time that I finished recounting everything that Zafrina had told us. I was glad that I had gotten her address and phone number before we left. I was going to have Jason contact her about testifying on my behalf when we went to court.

We all stayed and ate leftover sandwiches and salads from the party for supper while we talked some more about how I was going to file for full custody. After we were done eating Bella and I started to help clean up, but Mom shooed us off home, telling us to go get some sleep since we'd had a really long day. I was grateful as I could barely keep my eyes open anymore. I asked Bella if she needed to stop by her house to get a change of clothes before we went back to my place and was surprised when she said that she felt it was better that she just go home, "It's your first night having Abby home. You two need this time alone together. I have a few things that I need to do at home anyhow. Take me home and go spend some quality Daddy-daughter time with her and I will be over first thing in the morning."

I kissed her several times before I let her get out of my car and waited until I she was in the house before driving off. As soon as I got home I gave Abby a bath, and got her in the pajamas before laying a blanket on the floor and playing with her. Tomorrow I would have to start thinking about legal issues and hiring help, but tonight I was just going to enjoying having my baby home with me.

A/N:

Happy Friday. I'm posting now because its ready to go and I have a busy day tomorrow. Thanks to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta, but I did change quite a few things after she sent it back to me so any mistakes are mine.

Did any of you read 'Lover at Last'? I'm a huge fan of the brothers. There was one part that made me gasp out loud. Unfortunately, I was at work at the time and several people came to see if I was alright. If you've read it, I love to have someone to discuss it with.

I have found and become obsessed with a music group called Mumford and Sons. I just love their music. I was literally listening to "I will wait' on repeat the entire time I was doing my final edit and revision on this chapter tonight.

Reviews will get a teaser. I'll see everyone is two weeks!


	27. Chapter 27

Assumptions Chapter 27

Learning

EPOV:

Bella arrived at my apartment first thing Monday morning. I let her in and went for a quick shower before Abby woke up. I ended up taking longer than I had planned to. I was stressed and worried about the meeting with my lawyer this morning that every muscle in my neck and back were tight. I stood under the hot spray for a long time just trying to relax the muscles a little. I was still pulling my shirt over my head as I walked out of my bedroom and went to check on Abby. I was surprised to find that she was not in her crib, but figured that she obviously must have woken and was with Bella.

I found them in the kitchen where Bella was feeding her scrambled eggs and applesauce. I smiled as I walked into the kitchen and went straight to the coffee pot where Bella, as the best girlfriend ever, had brewed a fresh pot. "Your breakfast is keeping warm in the oven," she told me while not even taking her eyes off of Abby. I opened the oven and found a plate with scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. Did I mention that I had the best girlfriend ever?

I sat down to eat my breakfast and noticed that Bella didn't have a plate, "What about your breakfast?"

"I already ate before I came over." I nodded and then looked around and realized that Bella had not cooked in my kitchen.

"How early did you wake up?"

"Early. My mother can never seem to remember that there is a three hour time difference between us and always ends up calling at like five in the morning. I didn't know what you had in the way of food here, so I thought that I would bring breakfast."

"Thanks, I appreciate a hot breakfast, but Mom and Rose struck while we were gone. I came home to a fridge full of food, for both of us, and a ton of diapers in her new size," I said, finishing my plate.

"I found the same thing at my house, too." I nodded and moved to put it in the sink. I had expected as much, seeing as they would naturally assume that Abby and I would both be spending a lot of time at Bella's as well. It only made sense to keep stuff there for her so I didn't need to worry about packing her stuff all the time. "I don't mean to be rude and eat and run but my lawyer will be here soon and I need to be downstairs to open the shop."

"Go. Work. We'll be just fine here. We're just going to do girly things anyway." I kissed them both before heading for the door that led straight down to the store.

I went ahead and unlocked the doors and turned the sign to open before wandering around the store a bit. I knew that I was going to have to sit down with my books today and look at hiring someone part time but that would have to wait after my meeting with Jason. I heard the bells over the door jingle and turned to find Jason walking in with his daughter.

"Go look around sweetie while Daddy talks to Mr. Cullen."

"She's grown a lot since I saw her last."

"Yes, well, her mom has a job interview morning and I forgot that I'd promised that I'd take her with me to the office until Sara could get back from Port Angeles. I didn't think you'd mind me bringing her along. Especially since I can never say no to her when she wants me to buy her new books."

"I don't mind at all. She's starting school this year too, isn't she?"

"Yes, that is why Sara is looking for a part-time job. She just wants something to keep her busy while Rena is gone."

"Bree is going to be in her class then. Rose is absolutely going to go crazy unless she finds a hobby or something to occupy her time." I looked over to see that Rena had curled up in a ball on the easy chair in the corner with a picture book.

Jason and I got down to business and an hour later we had the beginning of a solid plan to sue for full custody of Abby. He said that while there are judges that prefer to leave the child with the mother, he didn't think we'd face that obstacle since Tanya had asked me to take her. He also thought it would end up being settled out of court if we could convince all of the "babysitters" that Tanya left Abby with to give depositions. I handed over Zafrina's number and address and hoped that she hadn't changed her mind about helping me with the custody case.

Jason and Rena left as soon as he had everything from me that he needed to go back to his office to prepare the documents that he needed to file the appropriate motions with the court, and that included a check from me. But, like he said, he didn't get Rena out of the shop without buying her five new books. I walked them to the door and then went to my office and pulled out everything that related to the financials of the store that I needed and sat down at the front counter to get to work.

I had a few customers here and there throughout the morning but was never overly busy. It was about noon when Mom walked into the shop with sandwiches and fruit for lunch. I filled her in on my talk with Jason. She looked at me with sadness in her eyes, "I am so thrilled to have my granddaughter here with us. I just can't understand how Tanya could behave that way. I never would have seen that kind of behavior coming from her. She always talked about having a family someday."

"I know. It's just not the Tanya that we know, that I loved once." Tanya had grown up jumping from foster home to foster home until she was placed with Carmen and Eleazar in seventh grade. She always had a big heart and just wanted a family to belong to. I thought that I had given her what she had needed and wanted, but I guess I didn't.

Mom helped me look over my books and she agreed with me that I could take on a part-time employee to work two week days and every other Saturday. I thought about opening on Sunday and having that person work that day but Mom reminded me that only the church, diner, and emergency services were open on Sunday's in Forks. I might offend people if I tried it. I nodded at her.

"You'll figure this out, Edward. Everything will be fine," she kissed my forehead as she stood up. "Now, I am going to go spend some time with my granddaughter before I head home. I told Bella that I would be up after we had our lunch. I hope that I'm not too late to help put Abby down for a nap. Don't forget that I am more than willing to babysit any time that the two of you need some alone time without a baby interrupting 'adult time!," I groaned as she laughed and headed for the door that led upstairs.

BPOV:

Abby and I were having a ball playing together. First thing after breakfast I gave her a bath, then we went to the living room where we played ball. I was going to have to tell Edward that he had a future soccer star on his hands, she loved to kick the ball back to me and she had a really strong kick. Esme called while we were playing and told me that she was planning to bring Edward and her lunch and wanted to know if I needed anything. I thanked her but declined. I had packed myself a lunch this morning that I was looking forward to. She also asked if I minded if she stopped up to see Abby after lunch and spend some time with her. I didn't mind in the slightest. I was a bit more nervous about watching Abby than I had let on to people. I wasn't used to babies and wasn't sure what to do when I had to go to the bathroom or needed to start cooking. I tried to ask Mom this morning, but she's a bit flighty and didn't really pay attention. She was too busy talking about the chances of Phil's team making the playoffs and how she was going to manage traveling with him once school started again. Maybe I could ask Esme what she'd do.

Esme made it upstairs just as I was putting Abby in her highchair to feed her lunch. I let her take over feeding her while I got to eat my lunch. I was starving but I had figured that I could wait to eat until after Abby was down for her afternoon nap. I was so glad that Esme stopped by and I wasn't going to have to wait. I had been looking forward to my chicken salad sandwich since I made it this morning. I watched Esme feeding her granddaughter her lunch and she was in heaven. I smiled at the look of absolute joy on Esme's face at getting to be with Abby. After we were done eating Esme cleaned up the baby before taking her to her room. I decided to run to the bathroom before I washed the dishes that were starting to pile up in the sink and peeked into Abby's room. I stood there for a minute, watching Esme reading to Abby while rocking her to sleep in the beautiful rocking chair that was sitting in the corner of the room. I had seen that chair this morning when I came in to get her when she woke up. I recognized the chair as being the one that Charlie had had in my room when I was growing up. I had completely forgotten about it.

I went back to the kitchen and started a pot of water brewing for tea while I ran the dish water. When Esme finally had Abby down to sleep, she and I sat down in the living room with a cup of tea and had a nice chat. She put my mind at ease about taking care of a baby. She told me that as long as I didn't leave anything down that she could get hurt on, like leaving a cup of hot tea on the end table, that she should be just fine while I was in the bathroom or ran into the kitchen for something. Just leave the bathroom door open so that I could listen to what she was doing. She said that everyone has to learn how to balance watching a mobile baby with doing things that need to be done around the house, and if I really felt nervous about it then I could get Rose to give Edward these plastic walls that are used to corral a baby, for a lack of better term.

Esme left before Abby woke up and I had a good half hour where I pulled out my laptop and starting typing out the notes that I had written the other night when I couldn't sleep before Abby woke up. In all, the scenes that I wrote weren't all bad but they definitely needed some work.

After Abby woke up we played some more ball before I decided to paint our nails. I held up two bottles of polish for her to choose from, coral and soft pink. She chose the coral. It was the same color that I liked to have on my nails.

After our nails were dry she and I went to the kitchen where I put her in her high chair and gave her a snack that she could try to feed herself while I started cutting up vegetables for the salad for dinner. I had taken out some hamburger and was going to make Edward and myself hamburgers with homemade fries. I figured that I could peel and cut the potatoes in the living room while I watched Abby play after her snack and that was what I did.

By the time that Edward came upstairs at five he looked absolutely exhausted. "That looks good, but I don't expect you to cook for me every day. Even though I really appreciate it tonight," he said, looking over my shoulder at the pan of hamburgers frying. Then he walked over to Abby and picked her up from where she was playing with a stuffed cat. "You did her nails?"

"I told you that we were going to do girly things. We did our hair and nails and we talked about cute boys."

"Hey! No talking about boys with my daughter until she's forty!" I laughed as I took the last burger out of the pan and put the plate of patties in the oven to keep warm. I listened to Edward talk and play with Abby while I took the potatoes out of the fridge, dried them off with a paper towel, and put them into the deep fryer.

Edward insisted on doing the dishes while I got Abby ready for bed. I took her to him after I had her ready to allow him to put his daughter to bed himself. He missed out on too many nights of doing this when he thought that Abby was being cared for by her mother. While they were having quality time I finished cleaning up the kitchen and then moved on to picking up the toys in the living room. I was just finishing when Edward wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I should go home soon."

"Stay," he said kissing my neck.

"Are you sure?"

He moved his hands from my waist to my breasts and lightly squeezed them, making me moan, "Very sure," he whispered in my ear.

I grabbed his hands in mine, tightened his grip a little while I turned my head and kissed him. He pulled his hands away from my breasts but kept my hands in his, allowing me to lead us to his bedroom.

I let go of him long enough to for me to crawl onto the bed. I barely got my second knee up onto the bed when he tackled me from behind. He leaned up so that I could roll over onto my back before he attacked my neck again with his mouth while his hand made its way inside my yoga pants. I arched my back then pressed my hips up into his, making him groan.

Minutes later we were both naked and I was straddling him. He put his hands back on my breasts and started massaging them, causing me to throw my head back with a shuddering breath. His hands only stayed there briefly before moving up to my neck and pulling down so that he could kiss me. Then his hands were on my hips, holding them still while he moved in me with as much force as he could muster, given the position we were in.

When we were done, I remained lying there on him with my head on his chest, "I'm glad that I stayed."

"I'm glad you stayed too," he laughed. I shifted off of him and curled into his side as he wrapped his arms around me. We had only laid like that for a few minutes before we got up to get ready for bed. I was glad that I'd left a few things here as well as a toothbrush. We brushed our teeth side by side in the bathroom and I was so surprised at how easy it was for us to fall into a domestic routine together. We crawled into bed and Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me to him. I had just fallen asleep when I was woken again by a scream coming through the baby monitor on the night stand. Edward jumped out of bed and was out the door before I even had a chance to sit up.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Thanks to Sweetpea123 for beta an awesome beta and friend. I did make changes after she sent it back to me so all mistakes and booboos are mine. I will see all of you in two weeks.


	28. Chapter 28

Assumption Chapter 28

title

BPOV:

I stood in the doorway to Abby's room and watched as Edward soothed her and rocked her back to sleep. Once she was out again we walked back to his room hand in hand.

"Maybe she woke up and got scared when she didn't recognize her surroundings," Edward suggested.

"I doubt it Edward. I don't know much about babies and what they can comprehend. But if that is true then, unfortunately, she should be used to waking up in strange places. I just think that she woke up and wanted her daddy. She calmed down the second you picked her up," I said with a yawn as we both climbed into the bed and went back to sleep.

When morning came I went into Abby's room to wake her up and get her dressed while Edward was in the shower. I had picked out a specific outfit for her to wear to today. I was just finishing putting the clips in her hair when Edward walked in and laughed, "She looks really patriotic." The whole outfit was red, white, and blue and so were the hair clips.

"Well, it's her first election day. She has to look special."

"She looks beautiful. Do we need to stop by your house before we meet up with my family?"

"Nope. I brought everything with me that I need. Don't forget that Abby and I are going to spend the day at your parent's house helping prepare for tonight."

"Ok, do you need my car to drive over there, or are you catching a ride with Mom or Rose?

"We're going to catch a ride with your mom."

"Then I'll just meet you there after work?" I nodded at him as I grabbed the extra bag of Abby's stuff that I had packed for her and we walked out the door.

We walked down to the diner together to meet up with Edward's family for breakfast. Esme and Carlisle were already there enjoying a cup of coffee while they waited. Edward sat down and grabbed the pot of coffee off the table and started pouring him and me some while I got Abby situated in the high chair that was already at the table waiting for her.

"Doesn't she look precious!" Esme cooed over the patriotic outfit that I had put on Abby this morning.

I started looking at the menu, trying to decide what sounded good while we waited for Rose and Emmett to show up. "I swear he's going to be late for his own funeral," Edward groaned. "I need to order breakfast for Abby. She hasn't eaten."

"I don't see the harm in us ordering. I'm sure they'll be here soon," Esme said with a sigh.

The waitress was just finishing taking our order when Emmett, Rose, and Bree walked into the diner. Throughout breakfast people kept coming up to the table and wishing Emmett good luck and promising him their vote. By the time that we were done eating it was almost nine and time for the polls to open. The high school cafeteria was the polling place for Forks now. Edward told me that it used to be the library, but since they closed that down the high school became the next best place because it had the advantage of having a large parking lot. Edward and I rode with his parents to the high school where a reporter from the Fork Forum news website took pictures of Emmett and the rest of us as we voted.

Edward grabbed a ride back to the bookstore with Emmett since he was heading into the station to work. Esme needed to stop at the store on our way back to her house to pick up a few last minute things that we would need. It was the same at the store as it was at the polling place, people were coming up and telling us that they voted for Emmett or ask us if we thought that he'd be able to beat his opponent. We weren't foolish enough to think that he'd get everyone's vote but he only needed 51%, and that was definitely doable for Emmett.

We started the day baking pies. Esme had made the cream pies yesterday but today was baking a few fruit pies to add to them. Rose and I had a blast slicing the fruit while Esme made the dough for the crusts. Bree was playing with Abby with a set of blocks in the corner of the kitchen where they were out of the way but we could still keep an eye on them. When Esme was ready to roll out the dough she let Bree come help her. Bree was excited to work with the rolling pin and was determined to do a good job. And she did. She did such a good job that Esme asked her to help put the pies together.

While they were doing that, Rose and I starting chopping the vegetables that we would need to make the salads and vegetable trays later. We talked about my upcoming book release and subsequent book tour while we worked. I really hadn't had a chance to talk to them alone since we got back from New York. I wondered if it was going to be possible to live in a small town like this and keep my writing secret. Did I even want to live with such a big secret for the rest of my life? At some point someone was going to question what I did for a living and I didn't want to hurt anyone by lying to them. They'd all been so accepting of me and welcomed me with open arms and lying to them seemed so wrong. But I had time to think about it and talk to Edward about what I should do.

That was the thing that surprised me most about my life now. I couldn't see myself making any big decisions without considering Edward (and now Abby) and wanting to talk it out with him. I had only had Abby in my life for a total of four days now and already she was so special to me. I had decided that tonight I was going to have a talk with Edward. We hadn't been dating that long but with the way things stood now, we were going to be raising his daughter together and we needed to figure that out together.

We spent the rest of the day making pitchers of tea and lemonade and frying chicken. We fried a lot of chicken and assembled the potato salad, macaroni salad, relish trays, and fruit trays. At this rate I was going to end up spending the party asleep in Edward's old bedroom. Edward and Carlisle arrived home from work just in time to help us by decorating the house. We were going to set the food up in the dining room and let people serve themselves. Esme had bought red, white and blue table cloths, napkins, plates, and cups. At the moment she was instructing Edward and Carlisle draping red, white, and blue streamers over every wall and anything else that had the misfortune of standing still for more than two seconds.

EPOV:

"Mom, you realize that he's not running for president, don't you? Don't you think you're taking this color scheme a little far?"

"No. Here's some more tape. Make sure that the streamers stick well."

"How about I just use Crazy Glue?" I snarked at Mom.

"How about I just tell Bella to cut you off for the next month?" She snarked right back. I heard Rose and Dad burst out in laughter behind me and I turned to glare at them, but found Bella standing with them trying her hardest not to laugh. She was failing miserably.

"Stop picking on your mother," Bella said through giggles. "This is a huge night for your brother. We have to make it as special as possible for him. So, shut up and put up more streamers."

We finally got all ten million rolls of streamers that Mom bought put up around the house and even some outside on the porch. I wasn't sure how long they were going to last when it had been raining off and on all day long. But hey, if the rain disintegrated the crepe paper it just meant less to clean up later.

As soon as Dad, who agreed with me about the streamers but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, and I were done decorating we got ourselves some beers and crashed on the couch in the living room. Mom walked through a few minutes later carrying a glass of wine and turned on the television to a local station before continuing to move through the room and making sure that everything was perfect before the guests started to arrive.

Emmett walked in about twenty minutes later with a couple of his deputies. Well, we all hope that they would still be _his _deputies at the end of the night. "Mom! This is so cool of you! I love it!" He said as he walked in and took in the decorating. Dad and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

I turned to find that Bella had disappeared from the room. I turned to go in search of her just as she was coming back into the room with a beer for me and a glass of tea for herself. I tried to refuse, saying that I had to drive home, but she told me that she was going to drive home. She was also prepared to drive Rose and Emmett home as well. That made sense since we were all going to the same place. I nodded and grabbed the beer out of her hand as she turned and walked back out of the room.

The guests started piling into the house and I got into quite a few conversations with different people. The next time I saw Bella she was helping Mom put the food out on the table. I stood in the doorway of the dining room and smiled at how well Bella had fit in with my family. I was about to ask if they needed any help when Angela came up behind me with Abby.

"I was wondering where her diaper bag was. She needs to be changed."

"I'll get it," I said reaching out for my daughter.

"That's ok. I can do it. It'll give me a little practice. The doctor said it'll be anytime now."

"The bag is in your old bedroom," Bella spoke up as she turned to return to the kitchen.

"Come on," I told Angela. "I'll show you the way."

By the time we returned to the living room everyone was starting to head into the dining room to get food. Angela sat down on the couch as I moved toward the group of people heading into the dining room, "aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah, but everything I eat gives me heartburn and my back's been hurting all day. I really don't want to stand forever just to wait for some food that is just going to make me sick."

I nodded, "I understand that."

She sat Abby down by her feet, "I'll keep an eye on her while you go get some food." I was just turning to walk off when I heard Bella's laughter start to fill the room. I turned to see her and Michael walking into the room, each of them carrying trays containing two plates of food and drinks for two.

"Hey honey, I found some stuff that I think you can eat without getting sick." The plate contained some fruit, a few vegetables, and some macaroni salad. "Esme had some whole milk so I got you a glass of that. That always helps you feel better. And I made sure that your Tums were in your purse before we left the house."

"Thank you, Mikey," she smiled at him. It made me happy to see them doing so well. They both deserved happiness. Michael sat down next to Angela while Bella and I sat on the floor against the wall to eat. Bella had brought me another beer, it was my fourth and I was going to have to cut myself off after this one. I may not be driving home, but I didn't want to get too drunk tonight.

It was nerve-racking waiting for the phone call to come. The polls closed at seven and we knew from experience that it took them and hour and a half to count and issue the results. The ballots were still hand counted and they always counted them at least three times. As soon as half past eight hit it grew really quiet in the house. Emmett was pacing through the house, unable to sit still or settle into a conversation with anyone. A little after nine I noticed him slipping out the front door and decided to follow him.

"This waiting is driving me crazy! It must be close if it's taking them this long to call."

"It always takes a long time and you know it. You were there at Charlie's last election."

"Yes, but we knew that Charlie was going to win. Everyone loved Charlie. And it never took them _this_ long to call with the results."

He had a point, that call should have come by now. "Yeah, like everyone in town doesn't feel the same way about you? I'm sure that you are going to win."

He shrugged at me. It wasn't like Emmett to be so unsure of himself. "At least one of us is." He took a deep breath as the rain picked up again. "Mom's probably put out the pies by now. We better get in there before the French silk is gone. I'm at the point that I might actually cry if I don't get a piece."

I laughed at him as I clapped him on the shoulder and the two of us headed back into the house. Sure enough, everyone was sitting around with coffee and pie. Emmett disappeared into the dining room while I held back and sat down on the couch with Michael and Angela.

Angela tried to stand a few minutes later, saying that she needed to go to the bathroom again. Michael stood up to help her to her feet since she was having so much trouble. It was then that two things happened simultaneously that stopped everything in the room. Angela gasped, grabbing her stomach and announcing that her water had broke just as Emmett's phone started to ring.

A/N:

First I want to thank my amazing beta, Sweetpea123. She is a Godsend. But I did make a lot of changes to this chapter so all mistake are mine because me and grammar are mortal enemies.

Second, I am so sorry that this is a week late. Here is what happened. I decided to let my 15yo move my car. He only had to move it like 2ft. Long story short, I was standing outside the car by him with the door open when he through it in reverse and slammed on the gas. I was dragged by the car door about 5ft before I fell off and hit the pavement. I landed on my knee and hand. I ended up with two sore ankles, a bruised, swollen, scraped up knee and elbow, sore wrist, bruised fingertips, sore shoulder, and bruises on my chest. Needless to say my injuries prevented me from writing. As for my son's driving lessons we're going to wait a year and then see how mature he is and how brave I am.

Third, Chapter 29 will post in two weeks and Chapter 30, the epilogue, will post two weeks after that. I already know what my next story will be but I won't post that until after On Our Own is completed.

Fourth, (and final note!) Happy Mother's Day to everyone that will celebrate this weekend. I am leaving in the morning for the Amana Colonies. I is a trip that we make every Mother's day (and a few more times throughout the summer and fall). Have a great weekend and I'll see you in two weeks. OH! And reviews will get teasers!


	29. Chapter 29

Assumptions Chapter 29

The Best Moments in Life

BPOV:

Edward ran outside to pull Michael and Angela's car as close to the door as he could so she wouldn't have to traipse through the pouring rain and mud. I went over and helped Ben get Angela to the door while I watched Emmett, who was still on the phone with the guy with the election results.

Edward walked back into the house and took over helping with Angela until she stopped walking and pushed them away, "Wait," she turned to face Emmett, "I have to know. You won right?"

Emmett smiled as the room went silent, "With sixty percent of the vote." As the rest of the room went crazy congratulating our new sheriff, Angela and Michael slipped out of the house with a promise to Edward and me that they'd call after the baby was born. Both of their parents were right behind them. It reminded me that I had been a bad friend to Gianna and resolved to call her tomorrow to see how her pregnancy was going.

Before everything had a chance to settle down Esme and Carlisle carried out several bottles of champagne and some cups for us to toast Emmett with. It was loud and everyone was excited that he'd won. I didn't hear anyone at the door but from the corner of my eye I saw it open and that reporter from this morning walked in. I walked over to greet him, "I knocked," he said with a smile, "but I don't think anyone could hear me over the celebrating," he said with a laugh.

"So tell me, as Charlie's daughter, how do you feel now that Emmett is the new sheriff?"

"I'm thrilled for him. I know that Charlie would be proud to know that Emmett succeeded him. I am positive that Charlie would have personally endorsed Emmett to replace him if he was still alive and had merely retired. As it should have been."

"I agree." He started to go on but he was interrupted by the crowd of people urging Emmett to give a speech.

"I'm not much for public speaking. I guess in that respect you won't notice much of a difference between me and Charlie's time as your chief. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for voting for me. I will do my best not to let you down or destroy your confidence in me. I also want to thank my wife and my daughter and the rest of my family for their support. Rose, you and Bree are my life and the light that guides me every day. My family has always had my back and encouraged me no matter what it was that I wanted to do. I wouldn't have had the courage to put myself out there like this if it wasn't for them. I probably don't say it enough, but I love you guys. I can only hope that I can live up to the example that Charlie set and be half the sheriff that he was. It's a damn shame that he was taken from us the way that he was. I guarantee you that I am working hard with the prosecutors to ensure that the young boy who did this receives the appropriate punishment and the help that he needs, not just for the town of Forks and the surrounding communities that are part of the Forks family, but for Bella, Charlie's daughter, whom I am proud to call a neighbor and friend. Bella, I can honestly say that my whole family and I are glad that you finally found your way home to Forks. Especially Edward. I know that Charlie will always be watching over you and, well, all of us, always. Thank you for all your support."

"To Chief Cullen!" someone yelled out, starting everyone cheering again. In the chaos I saw Esme taking Bree upstairs to put her to bed while Emmett and Rose walked off with the reporter in the direction of Carlisle's office. I looked around and noticed that Edward was no longer in the room and took off in search of him.

I found him in the kitchen making Abby a bottle of juice. I stood in the doorway where I could watch him with his daughter and not be seen. I loved watching him with Abby. He was so amazing and caring with her, it made my heart ache whenever I thought of all the time that he'd been separated from her. I couldn't understand how Tanya could have been so dismissive of the little angel; I had only been around her for a few days and I wasn't even biologically related to her. Maybe it was normal for stepparents to become attached to children and fall in love with them this quickly?

I made a mental note to call Phil and talk to him about being a stepparent as I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast bar. We maintained a comfortable silence while he fed her the juice. We stayed that way until Abby fell asleep in Edward's arms and we decided that we'd better head on home.

We found his family in the living room talking with the guests that were remaining. Most people had left after they found out the election results. It was a work night after all. We found Emmett and Rose and we all said our goodnights to everyone and went out to Edward's car. Emmett's phone rang as I was pulling away from the house, it was his opponent calling to congratulate him on his win. If Emmett was overexcited before that phone call, he was literally vibrating after the call and didn't settle down the whole drive home. Not that I blamed him, I'd be the same way if it was me.

EPOV:

It had been a little more than a week since Emmett was elected Sheriff and we had all been invited to the police station for a small ceremony where the mayor was going to swear Emmett in. Between Mom and Rose they took about a million pictures and Dad got the whole thing on video. I was so proud of my brother. He deserved this. He was great man and police officer. Rose and Emmett were planning to celebrate with a few of the guys later tonight and Bella and I had a date night planned. Mom and Dad were excited about the idea of getting both of their granddaughters for the night. In the meantime, Bella and Mom were heading back to the bookstore together. They were going to watch the store and Abby together as a team while I went to a meeting with my attorney. I had posted notices that I was looking for a part time employee but I had yet to hire anyone.

As I passed Newton's store I thought of Angela and Michael. Angela gave birth to a healthy baby girl a little after three in the morning the night of the election. Jessica weighed a little over nine pounds and was beautiful. Bella and I went up to the hospital as soon as I closed the store that night. She had made a run to the store to buy a ton of pink balloons and flowers for Angela. I was really beginning to see this kind of future for Bella and me, and not too far in the future.

Bella and I had not spent a night apart since the first evening we got back from New York. Mostly we stayed at her house. I had always loved my little apartment but Bella's house was a lot more comfortable and bigger. In all honesty it was more of a home. That was one reason that I wanted to take Bella out tonight. There was something that I really needed to talk to her about.

I walked into Jason's office and his receptionist immediately greeted me and offered me something to drink. I agreed to a cup of coffee as she led me back to Jason's office. I sat down in the chair across from him as he pulled my file out of his desk.

"We heard back from Tanya's lawyer. I am shocked, to be honest. I didn't expect a response so quickly or for the response that they gave us. It was like they were ready and waiting for my motion."

"What did they say?"

"She's willing to give you custody."

"Really? It's that easy? She's not going to fight me at all?"

"That is what this response suggests, Edward."

"I don't understand how she could do this, or why."

"Personally, I don't get it either. But we should have this finished quite soon. With your blessing I'll send all of this over to the judge, then it's one quick appearance and then this will all be done. But Edward there is one more thing that they added to the response that I wasn't expecting."

Jason handed me some papers and I was dumbfounded at what I was reading. I was positive that Tanya was going to fight me on the visitation issue. I had asked for limited supervised visits in Forks where I knew that Abby wouldn't be handed over to strangers and was safe. Even throughout everything that I had learned about Tanya's abandonment I never even considered that Tanya would do this.

I took my time walking back to the shop and took a detour through the elementary school playground. I sat down on one of the swings and let myself get lost in my thoughts. Tanya had changed a lot since she left me. This shit that she was pulling was not her. The Tanya I knew loved to enjoy a quiet evening at home with my family. She loved to learn to bake cookies and cakes with my mom. She wanted a family. It was something she said she had missed out on as a child. Carmen, her last foster mom, was great at a lot of things, but cooking wasn't one of them. I then thought about Bella and how amazing she had been with Abby. My daughter was quickly becoming her world. It amazed me how Bella could love and care for Abby more than her own mother did. I wondered what my life would have been like right now if Tanya had not left me. Would she have been a good mother to our daughter if she'd stayed? I shook that line of thought from my brain because it didn't matter to me at all really because she did leave and I found Bella. She was the most amazing thing that had happened to me besides my daughter. Tanya had made her choices and my life was better now than it ever was. I was happier than ever. I sat there until I realized that I had been there for well over an hour and it had started to rain and I was soaked to the bone. I sighed, stood up, and walked back my store.

Mom and Bella were busy with customers when I walked in so I slipped right through and went upstairs to change into some dry clothes. Once upstairs the chill of the rain hit me and I decided to jump into a hot shower. I stood under the hot water for the longest time, letting the hot water warm me and loosen my muscles until my hands were pruney.

I walked back out into the bed room and was surprised to find Bella sitting on the bed. "I wanted to make sure that you were alright. We were worried about you."

"We got a response from Tanya that we weren't expecting."

"Oh?"

"She's offering to terminate her own parental rights to Abby." Bella sat there staring at me and blinking for a few moments.

"Did you just say that she was walking away from Abby? Permanently?"

"Yeah."

"I…I…I have no idea what to say to that. Abby's so amazing. I don't understand this."

"That makes two of us."

"Do you want to cancel tonight? Just stay in. The three of us."

"No," I said smiling at her. I sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped my arms around her, "I am looking forward to spending the whole night alone with you." We went back downstairs and Bella left with mom and Abby. Mom was going to drop Bella off at her house and pick up Bree before heading home with both girls.

I pulled into Bella's driveway and jumped out of the car and practically ran for the front door. I had quickly changed clothes as soon as I closed the store. I was in a hurry to get here. I just didn't want to be apart from her one more second. She flung open the door before I was able to knock and threw herself into my arms. I guess I wasn't the only one eager for our date. "I was watching for you," she said before kissing me. I took her hand and led her to the car.

I took her to a nice steakhouse in Port Angeles. As soon as we were seated and the waiter came over, I ordered us a bottle of wine. As soon as we both had a glass I the chance to start the conversation that I really felt we were due to have. "Bella, I have something that I have wanted to tell you for a while now. I know that we haven't been dating that long, but I love you. I love you so much. I didn't want any more time to pass between us without me telling you that."

"I love you too, Edward. I am so glad that we got that out there because it makes what I have to talk to you about a lot easier."

"I have something else to talk to you about, too."

"Me first. We love each other. We just made that clear and I hate the idea that you and Abby would ever spend another night away from me. I'm selfish enough that I want you two with me every day. I love going to bed with you every night and waking up in your arms. I get excited every morning when I wake up and realize that Abby is in the other room safe with us and I get to spend the day playing with her. I want you and Abby to move in with me."

I couldn't help it. I just started laughing. Bella looked at me like I was crazy and I could tell that she was nervous about my reaction. I calmed myself down as quickly as I could so that I didn't upset her any more than I already had. "I was going to suggest the same thing. I want us to be a family." She had the most brilliant smile on her face as I reached across the table and kissed her.

When I pulled back she took my hand in hers, "Let's skip the movie and go home and celebrate." I couldn't get the bill paid fast enough. I laughed out loud again as she nearly took my arm off dragging me out of the restaurant. The other customers thought that we were crazy and maybe we were, but we were crazy in love with each other.

A/N:

I know that I am a big fat failure right now. All I can really say is that I am sorry. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for betaing this quickly since I failed to send it to her when I was supposed to and didn't realize it. Oye. Just want to remind everyone that the next chapter is the epilogue.

I signed up for the fundraiser for Oklahoma. I live in Tornado Alley myself. I feel so bad for them. I am looking for ideas for what to write. Mainly some prompts for a new one shot (bella & Edward ofcourse), but I will consider outtake ideas for any of my twilight stories. Even if you are not donating to the compilation I am interested in your ideas since I will be able to post it here in September. Leave an idea in a review or a pm or even on facebook or twitter. Oh! And even if I don't choose your idea for the fundraiser doesn't mean that I won't write it.


	30. Chapter 30

Assumption Chapter 30

Life Rolls On

EPOV:

"A watched pot never boils," Bella laughed as she walked through the living room, picking up the toys and clothes that the kids always seemed to leave behind. It was always things like socks, shoes, even the occasion pair of the children's underwear would end up in random places in the house.

I sighed and turned back to the window as Bella made her way into the kitchen. I was eager for the girls to come home. Way more than eager. I needed to see for myself that they were safe and sound. Random text messages telling us that they were fine just weren't enough. Bella had to talk me out of going to check on them several times.

"But it looks like it's going to rain! They didn't take umbrellas. The creek could flood and they could drown! What the hell were we thinking, letting three teenage girls go off into the woods alone!"

"Edward! For God's sake! There is not one damn cloud in the sky. It's not going to rain. Plus they _did_ take umbrellas and you, Emmett, Mike; you bought them a tent that I am sure they could use on an expedition to the South Pole. They. Are. Fine. And you are staying home."

I'm sure that Rose and Angela were having the same argument with Emmett and Mike at their homes. I couldn't believe that I got talked into letting them go out into the woods camping on their own for spring break, but I did. Bree, as the oldest, and the only legal adult at eighteen, was in charge. It's not that I didn't trust the girls or thought they'd be out getting into trouble because they really were good girls. I just didn't trust the world with the girls. They were just at the meadow so I knew where to find them if there _was_ trouble. Plus, they had been camping so many times in their lives that they were experts at it now. And Emmett and I could get to them within a half hour if need be. Fifteen minutes if I talked him into making it an official call and we used the sirens and lights on his squad car.

Bella and I had started taking Abby to the meadow with us almost as soon as we brought her home. We went at least once a week during nice weather. We camped there often in the summer as well. We all went camping as a big family trip a couple times a year. We enjoyed it more than any other trip because it forced the kids to leave their electronics behind for a few days and actually take part in family activities. However, Bree and Jessica had never been to the meadow before. My Abby was now fifteen and had just started to really notice boys. That did not make me happy. I wanted to rip her phone out of her hand every time she got a text from a boy.

"Is it too late to send her to school at a convent? Or at least an all-girl Catholic school?"

"We aren't Catholic, Edward."

"I don't think they care if you pay the tuition. Maybe we can make a big donation. Your last book did well. We could offer to remodel a library."

"Stop being ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous. I'm totally serious about this."

"We are not sending her away to a Catholic school and I doubt they'd want a donation of money made from my books. They go against everything they believe in."

I snorted at that. They would consider Bella's book evil and sinful. I wasn't ready to give up my fight. There had to be a way to keep my baby girl away from those oversexed teenage boys.

Jessica was fourteen and a year behind Abby in school but those three girls were so close that they could have been sisters. Abby had always wanted a sister and that was the one thing that Bella and I had yet to be able to give her. The girls wanted to spend time together before Bree left for college in the fall. I wanted them to wait until summer, but they were afraid that the summer was going to be busy and they would miss their chance. So away they went. Bella and I followed them up to the meadow to make sure that they arrived safe and were set up before we left them alone.

Bella and I were finally married when Abby was five. I would have married her a lot sooner than that but she wanted to wait until Abby was old enough to actually be a part of wedding. Abby legally became Bella's daughter around that time as well. Tanya voluntarily signed away her rights to Abby and never looked back. I never did understand why or how she could walk away. Abby didn't need Tanya and didn't remember her at all. Abby's first word was mama and she said it to Bella. Bella always told me that she didn't need a piece of paper to tell her that Abby was her little girl. It always gave me such great happiness that Bella and Abby shared such a special bond with each other.

Bella got pregnant with our first son almost immediately after the wedding. We decided to name him Charlie after her father. And he was his grandfather reborn. His middle name, Fisher, started off as a joke but then it just stuck, but damn it if it wasn't totally him. If the child didn't have a fishing pole in his hand it was a baseball bat. He had played on a little league since he was old enough for T-ball. They had won the championship in their division for the last two years. He was outside right now practicing his swings. I can't tell you how many windows we've had to replace over the years, both in the house and the cars.

Bella was so busy trying to write her books while taking care of two children that we decided to wait two years before we started trying again. That time it took us a year of trying before we found out that we were expecting again. Gabriel Matthew and Liam Oliver were now six and completely amazing in so many ways. It was hard to believe that they could be so different yet so similar at the same time. Liam was one big ball of energy that bounced around the house leaving chaos in his wake. Gabriel wasn't, he was quiet and locked in his head most of the time. He talked, but mostly about whatever book he had just read. He was my buddy who followed me to work a lot. All he wanted to do was sit in a corner and read all day and my bookstore gave him plenty of books to keep him happy.

Gabe was a normal, healthy baby until he was eighteen months old. The change in him came so suddenly that it was a bit unreal. He stopped using the few words that he did know and stopped acknowledging when someone was trying to play with him, and he stopped walking. Bella and I started to panic because we didn't understand what was going on with him or how to help him. He mostly just wanted to sit on his blanket and play with his stuffed cat. Bella couldn't even take that thing away to wash it without him screaming and throwing a fit; that really kind of scared us. We took him to the pediatrician and Gabe went through a series of behavioral tests and observation sessions before we had an answer. Our son was autistic. We were both stunned when were told, but Bella held it all together better than I did. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded at the doctor and asked what she needed to know and what she needed to do to take care of him. Neither of us had the first clue what it meant to have an autistic child, for us or for him. It was definitely a learning experience for us. We both tried to find answers and solutions in books only to find out that there isn't a textbook answer to dealing with autism.

Now he is what his doctor called "high functioning" on the autism spectrum.. He lives with us and he gets to go to the same school as his brothers, which was important to us. The biggest thing that I learned about autism is mostly that the children aren't different or really handicapped, even if they are classified that way. They learn differently, yes, but they are quite intelligent. The biggest issue, at least with Gabe, is the frustration he feels being locked in his own head and his inability to communicate that frustration well.

I stood up and followed Bella into the kitchen. She loved being in her kitchen. She designed the entire area herself so she had her dream kitchen. After we found out that she was pregnant that first time we started considering the limited space that we had in the house. We only had two bedrooms, and even if the baby had been a girl we didn't want Abby to have to share her room. We didn't want the baby to keep her up at night or anything. Bella and I were both completely against selling the house and moving. She wanted to stay here, where her father had lived. After meeting with an architect and Mom we soon discovered that our idea to merely add onto the house wasn't a feasible option. So we packed up the house, put most of our things in storage, and moved in with my parents while our house was torn down and rebuilt. Bella had some guilt over our decision but there wasn't another option at that point. That was not the easiest six months of our marriage. The house seemed so crowded with four adults and Abby living there. It might have been easier if we were there in the spring and summer where we could escape outside once in a while, but we moved in in October and had the rainiest, coldest, snowiest fall and winter that Washington had seen in over two decades. We were trapped in the house. A lot. I know that my parents loved having us there but I also knew that they were glad to see us leave at the end.

I found Bella coming out of the pantry with the jar of Nutella and a bag of pretzels. It was her favorite snack lately. She then went to the fridge and started pulling out vegetables to start chopping for dinner.

"Are we still going to tell the kids tonight?" I asked as I sat down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar where Bella was working. We thought that we were done having kids but apparently we were wrong. Bella went in for a yearly exam two months ago and discovered that she was pregnant. We were shocked but happy. I would never say this to Bella because I don't want her to get upset if it happens to be a boy, but I am really hoping for a girl this time. Not that I'd love another son any less.

"I think we have to. I'm almost four months. I'm going to start showing soon. If we don't at least tell Abby soon she's going to figure it out. That is, if she hasn't already. I was throwing up the day before she left and she's too smart not to figure it out." That was an understatement. Abby was at the top of her class. At the rate that she's going she will be able to write her own ticket to any college that she wanted. A part of me hoped that it would be a college close to home.

I grabbed a can of soda and the gallon of milk out of the fridge. I poured Bella a glass of milk before returning to the living room with my soda to resume my post watching for the girls. I looked across the street and saw my brother sitting on his porch, obviously waiting for the girls too. "I'm heading across the street," I yelled to Bella as I took off out of the house. I actually loved the fact that I lived so close to my brother. It was nice having them near when we needed them, and us being there for Emmett and Rose as well.

As soon as I hit the porch the front door flew open, "Uncle Edward!" A little six-year-old girl came flying out of the door and rammed right into my legs. Nearly seven years ago Rose had been in Port Angeles visiting a friend who was a nurse at the women's clinic. She and her friend had just returned from their lunch date when she found a teenage girl sitting on the ground against the building in tears. The girl, Kasey, was only fifteen and had just found out that she was pregnant. She was in the foster system and the father was a boy that had been living in the same foster home until recently. He had run away earlier in the month and no one had heard from him since. Kasey was scared and was afraid that her foster parents were going to force her to have an abortion. She didn't know what she wanted to do but she knew that she didn't want to go that route. Rose stayed by the girl's side that night until the social worker assured her that she would make sure that Kasey would be safe going back home. Rose did give the girl her address and phone number and told her to call her if she ever needed anything. It was two months later that Kasey showed up in Forks, having run away from her foster home after her foster father had hit her.

Rose and Emmett had been known to get into some good fights over the years but the one they got into over Kasey was by far the biggest. Emmett had to call social services and report that Kasey had shown up at his home. Emmett didn't really have a choice but to make that call. If he hadn't he could have lost his job, and deep down Rose knew that. She was more angry with the situation and the system but took it out on Emmett, who spent two weeks sleeping on our sofa before she allowed him to come home. In the end, the social worker found a home for Kasey in Forks. Rose stayed close to Kasey, always visiting her, buying her maternity clothes, and buying the baby things. I know that Rose would have adopted the baby if Kasey decided to give her up.

Kasey eventually decided that she wanted to keep the baby and raise her on her own. When she turned sixteen my part-time employee quit to go off to college, leaving me needing to hire someone. When Kasey first approached me about the job I have to admit that I was leery at first, but I gave her a chance and never regretted it. Kasey and Angel, her daughter, lived with her foster parents until she graduated high school. As a graduation present we all got together and remodeled my old apartment above the bookstore for her. It had been unlived in since Abby and I moved in with Bella and needed some work and a lot of cleaning. It had become a storage dump over the years and it was about time that I went through the garbage up there and threw things out.

Kasey still works for me part-time, living in the apartment with her daughter while taking classes at the community college in Port Angeles. Rose was always more than willing to babysit, as were Mom and Bella. To be honest, Emmett, Dad, and I regularly volunteered to babysit as well. Kasey was an amazing mother to that little girl and Angel was so sweet and kind. She was good with Gabe, and for a child so young I was amazed and grateful that she was his friend. I told her that one day and Kasey just laughed at me, "Well, I got to see in person examples of how to be a crappy parent and how to be a great parent. I never want her to know the pain that I went through."

I took a seat in the chair next to Emmett, "You hear from them yet?"

"Not from them. But one of my deputies radioed that they saw the truck on the highway headed for Michael and Angela's house to drop Jessica off. They should be home soon."

I sighed in relief. My brother and I sat talking for awhile while we watched Angel play with her doll on the porch until Rose came out and told me that Bella called. She no longer felt like cooking so I was going to cook. I laughed as I stood up and walked back to my house. I figured there had to be something in the house that I could throw on the grill. That is what I was best at.

As I walked through the house I found my wife lying on the couch with a wash cloth over her forehead and looking pale. I stood there watching her and remembered the night that we'd met. I had made so many assumptions about her based on limited information and my own skewed interpretations of the facts. And so had she. I was never so thrilled to be wrong about someone in my life and that I was able to have the opportunity to know and love Bella. I will never understand completely why Charlie pushed her away like he did, and for her sake I wish there was a way to find out because I know it still bothers her.

I smiled as my sons came into to the house and started raiding the kitchen. I went in there and shooed them out while I got some chicken out of the fridge that Bella was going to make into a stir-fry. I decided that I could just grill it with some BBQ sauce, leaving hers and Gabe's plain, of course. I listened as Liam and Charlie turned on the TV in the living room while Gabe took a seat at the table with his book. I was just about to go out the back door to set up the grill when the front door opened, "I'm home!" And at that moment, with my entire family together again, my life was complete.

A/N: I am the mother of a bratty teenage boy, not an autistic child. My mother works with an amazing lady that has four children. Three boys and one girl. The girl, who is now 19, is a diagnosed manic-depressive with suicidal tendencies. All three of her sons are diagnosed with autism. The two oldest boys live in a residential home. They always have and always will. The oldest is 20 and has a job at the home delivering mail to the other residents. Occasionally, Kathy is allowed to bring them home for holidays. Her youngest is labeled as high functioning on the spectrum. He lives at home and goes to school in a regular classroom, not special ed. Life is not easy for them but she and her husband are just amazing. Gabe is modeled after their youngest and a boy that I recently saw on a documentary on autism. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about autism and the people diagnosed. But I am by no means an expert on the subject. I just know what I've seen from this one family.

I am also not advocating teen having babies. I don't think that many teens are emotionally or mentally ready for the undertaking of raising children. Most adults aren't either. But, there are some teen parents that do grow up and do right by themselves and their children. Not all teen Mom's are like those girls on that Mtv show. Some can make it.

I want to thank Sweetpea123 for being an amazing friend and beta. She is always so sweet about fixing all my grammar crimes. I also want to thank everyone that read and reviewed this story. It went a lot longer than it was originally supposed to. Especially since the original version of this was supposed to be a one-shot for a charity compilation.

Speaking of fundraisers. I wrote a new fluffy one-shot for the Oklahoma one. Bella, a recent college grad who is still unemployed takes the first, and only job offered to her, working for her cousin Alice in her flower shop. There she meets Edward, a friend of Alice's and a regular customer. Love will be in bloom for these two. Anyone who reviews this epi will get a teaser. I will post it on ffn in September. That is when we are allowed to.

Thank you again for following me on this journey and I hope that you will stay with me for the next story which will feature Reverend Edward. I've started writing it but will not post it until On Our Own is marked complete. I just can't handle two stories at one time anymore.


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